For the Republican Party, the fight for the presidential nomination was largely over before it started, but the race to be Donald Trump’s running mate is every bit as interesting — and by some measures, even more competitive.
As regular readers know, as is true in every presidential election cycle, ambitious GOP players are trying to position themselves for vice presidential consideration, effectively auditioning in public, hoping to impress the likely Republican nominee and those who have his ear. Over the last several weeks, it’s led House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance to compete in a race to the bottom in the hopes of staying in Trump’s good graces.
But they’re not the only competitors.
Last week, NBC News reported that Sen. Tim Scott isn’t just on the short list, there’s “a real possibility” that the South Carolinian will be offered the gig. There is, however, one apparent problem with the senator from Team Trump’s perspective: Scott voted to certify the 2020 presidential election and later said then-Vice President Mike Pence “absolutely” did the right thing on Jan. 6.
The Republican lawmaker seems to have come up with a solution to the part of his record that Team Trump doesn’t like. The Associated Press reported:
Scott, a Trump rival in the 2024 race who dropped out and later endorsed the former president, declined to say in two Sunday news show interviews whether he would have acted differently as vice president. “I’m not going to answer hypothetical questions, No. 1,” said Scott, R-S.C. He added: “You’re asking a hypothetical question that you know can never happen again.”
On “Face the Nation,” CBS News’ Robert Costa reminded the senator, “I’m not asking you a hypothetical question. I’m asking you a constitutional question. How do you see the role of vice president in terms of the congressional certification?”
The senator was willing to say, “The Constitution is very clear,” though he wasn’t willing to say how he would approach the issue if given the opportunity.
As for Scott’s contention that a Jan. 6-like scenario “can never happen again,” I have no idea how the GOP lawmaker can be so sure.
Meanwhile, on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Scott repeated his “I’m not going to answer hypothetical questions” line related to Jan. 6, while also arguing that President Joe Biden is “dragging his feet” on U.S. aid to Ukraine.
It fell to Jake Tapper to say,” I don’t understand how you can criticize President Biden for ‘dragging his feet’ when it comes to helping Ukraine, when Donald Trump is out there saying that the United States shouldn’t be giving any money to Ukraine.” For the record, the Biden White House hasn’t just championed support for Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, the administration’s latest request for aid has been pending on Capitol Hill since last fall. It’s members of Scott’s Republican Party who have, in reality, been dragging their feet. Tapper also asked Scott why Trump has said literally nothing about the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The senator responded by dodging the question and blaming the Russian invasion on the Biden administration. All of this, of course, comes on the heels of Scott’s ridiculous defense of Trump in the E. Jean Carroll case. After juries held Trump liable for defaming and sexually abusing the writer, the South Carolinian insisted — with a straight face — that putting the former president back in the White House would constitute “a return to normalcy.” I continue to believe that no one should want to be vice president this badly.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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