“This is not a win. Comey eviscerated all the excuses for Hillary and her team’s behaviors. It plays into the narrative that she can’t be trusted,” said an Iowa Democrat, who, like all respondents, completed the survey anonymously. “If she was running against anyone other than Trump, this would have been blown up much bigger and hit much harder.”
.. “He needs someone with a calming influence who can help him on Capitol Hill and with key constituent groups that want to vote for Trump but remain reluctant,”
.. On the whole, Republican insiders aren’t fond of those ideas, though military experience tested much higher: Just 15 percent of insiders said a retired general would be most helpful to Trump’s efforts to defeat Hillary Clinton, while only 1 percent want a fellow business figure.
Donald Trump Meets With Senator Joni Ernst, a Possible Running Mate
It is unusual in recent history for a presumptive nominee of a major party to tease out the process for choosing a running mate in such a public way, but it is reflective of Mr. Trump’s approach on his reality TV show, “The Apprentice.”
Trump’s VP Choices
By Christie’s own admission from a few years ago, he isn’t qualified to be president because of his lack of preparation on foreign policy, and that remains true today. Christie would be a comprehensively terrible choice, and so it is entirely possible that he will be Trump’s selection.
Clinton’s VP Choices
Kaine has the relevant experience and preparation to be president that the other two simply don’t have, but choosing him would not be the attention-grabbing or “exciting” one that selecting one of the others would be. Having Kaine on the ticket would show seriousness about governing, and having someone prepared to take over in an emergency would be the responsible thing to do.
.. Taking Warren out of the Senate would be a mistake for Democrats, since that is where she is likely to have the greatest impact on the party’s agenda. Picking Warren would be seen as a concession to Sanders supporters, but the effect of it would be to make her a defender of whatever Clinton chose to do. Progressives would probably rather have her in the Senate acting as a critic of Clinton’s policies than as the person assigned the task of selling those policies to the left.