Despite praise from Trump, two potential VP picks flounder in the spotlight

Media Corner

Over the weekend, two potential vice president options for Donald Trump engaged with contemporary, center-left news sources. And the results were not encouraging for both Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), who appeared on Meet the Press and Face the Nation respectively. 

Scott, who ran in the 2024 GOP presidential primary to little fanfare, met with Trump over the weekend in what some were calling an audition to be the former president’s VP pick for 2024. Scott denied this interpretation. 

The junior senator did, however, carry water for Trump when it came to “election integrity.” Trump has, unsurprisingly, continued to deny he lost the 2020 presidential election and has been eager to imply that the 2024 election could also be “unfair” to him depending on the results. Trump has also threatened that there could be potential violence from his supporters if Biden triumphs in November. 

Scott echoed such sentiments when asked if he would accept the outcome of the upcoming race regardless of who wins. 

“There is clear facts here. President Trump himself said he expects this election to be fair, he expects it to be honest, and he expects to win. That's what the presidential candidate should expect, and I expect the exact same thing,” Scott said to Meet the Press host Kristen Welker.  

“And frankly the American people agree with him. This is an issue that is not an issue, so I'm not going to make it an issue.” 

Welker was persistent with Scott on an actual answer to her question, but he continued to dodge the question. 

“At the end of the day, the 47th president of the United States will be President Donald Trump, and I'm excited to get back to low inflation [and] low unemployment,” Scott concluded. “That is my statement.” 

Meanwhile, Gov.Noem’s new biography continues to put her under the microscope. Last week, she was mired in controversy when it was revealed that she admitted to killing a puppy because it couldn’t be properly trained. Now, the Heartland reactionary has been caught lying about meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. 

"I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, I'm sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants. I've been a children's pastor after all," Noem wrote in a leaked copy of her book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.” 

However, when asked if she had actually met with the isolated strongman, Noem — who up until recently was a dark horse VP pick — came forward with the truth. 

“No, I've met with many, many world leaders, many world leaders ... I'm not going to talk about my specific meetings with world leaders, I'm just not going to do that,” Noem explained to Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation. “This anecdote shouldn't have been in the book, and as soon as it was brought to my attention, I made sure that that was adjusted.” 

Both politicians were mentioned by Trump in audio leaked and published today. The clip captures a meeting at Mar-a-Lago from this Saturday, where Trump was hosting an event for Republican bigwigs. The former president spoke highly of both Noem and Scott, but floated other options including Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Mike Lee (R-UT). Rep. Elise Stefanfik (R-NY) was also mentioned.  

Trumps’ nominee is expected to be announced at the upcoming Republican National Convention being held in Milwaukee this July.