By Janice Hisle
As of early last week, former President Donald Trump had no new campaign events scheduled. But over the past few days, the Republican frontrunner’s campaign has put seven new events on the calendar—and two of them feature prominent Republican women some consider to be contenders for his vice presidential pick.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST) on Jan. 3 in Sioux City, Iowa, and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) will take the stage at 7 p.m. CST on Jan. 4 in Keokuk, Iowa.
Although both have spoken on behalf of the former president at other campaign stops, their next appearances will put them under a brighter spotlight as Iowa’s first-in-nation caucuses approach. On Jan. 15, Hawkeye State voters will choose which candidate they want to represent the GOP against the Democrats’ nominee, presumably President Joe Biden, on the Nov. 5, 2024 ballot.
Both women have expressed interest in being President Trump’s running mate. Their scheduled stump speeches come amid increasing talk about President Trump leaning toward choosing a woman as his running mate.
In September, he told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he liked the “concept” of a female running mate. Since then, many people, including former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, have been saying that they think a woman is destined for the role.
“I believe that President Trump will have a female” as his VP, said Mr. Bannon, speaking with ex-Trump press secretary Sean Spicer during a Dec. 15 podcast.
On Dec. 26, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told The Epoch Times that it is premature to discuss any speculation about the vice presidential pick. Customarily, presidential candidates have waited until the summer before the general election to announce their running mates.
Noem ‘Understands’ MAGA
However, Mr. Bannon said he thought it was time to start giving serious consideration to about 10 women who would be strong contenders in that role. Ms. Noem was one of a few specific women whom Mr. Bannon discussed.
In August, she publicly stated that she would accept an offer to be President Trump’s vice president if asked.
In September, when Ms. Noem announced her endorsement of the former president in her home state of South Dakota, the words, “Trump/Noem,” flashed briefly on a screen, fueling discussion about her future as a possible vice presidential pick.
Mr. Bannon said Ms. Noem would be a good choice because she understands the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, has her roots in the conservative Tea Party movement, and has been “very close to President Trump.”
He noted that several other female governors may have also been contenders, including Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who also served as a press secretary for President Trump.
But Mr. Bannon ruled out Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who endorsed one of President Trump’s main challengers, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Mr. Bannon also crossed off Nikki Haley, President Trump’s former U.N. ambassador and a former South Carolina governor who is challenging both Mr. DeSantis and President Trump for the Republican presidential nomination. Mrs. Haley has publicly denied any interest in serving as vice president.
She has risen in some opinion polls, particularly in New Hampshire.
But in the RealClearPolitics average, both Ms. Haley and Mr. DeSantis trail President Trump by about 51 percentage points. As of Dec. 26, Ms. Haley and Mr. DeSantis were drawing about 11 percent support each while 62.5 percent of would-be voters said they favored President Trump for the Republican nomination.
As for Ms. Greene, Mr. Bannon didn’t go into detail about her. He did say that she is among the prominent Republicans who will continue to energize the MAGA base.
Ms. Greene publicly stated in August that she was “on a list” of potential vice-presidential choices for the former president and would be “honored” if chosen. On social media, her fans clamor for her to get the job.
Neither Noem Nor Greene?
But Nathaniel Gavronsky, a Trump caucus captain in Iowa, told The Epoch Times he is skeptical as to whether Ms. Greene or Ms. Noem would make the cut as a VP pick.
He likes what both women have accomplished in their current roles, but neither one of them could expand President Trump’s base, he said. “Neither would bring voters who would not look at Trump as a possibility otherwise,” Mr. Gavronsky said. In other words, fans of Ms. Noem and Ms. Greene are already supportive of President Trump.
In contrast, when Indiana Gov. Mike Pence became candidate Trump’s running mate, he helped “fill in the missing gaps in the Republican electorate,” Mr. Gavronsky said.
Mr. Pence appealed to voters on the religious right, including those who “couldn’t see themselves voting for someone as brash as Donald Trump,” unless Mr. Pence was on the ticket, Mr. Gavronsky said.
Mr. Gavronsky’s analysis meshes with part of what senior Trump adviser Jason Miller recently said when asked about what qualities President Trump is seeking in a running mate.
“I think he’s looking for someone who’s gonna, first of all, help him win,” and then can help him manage and run the country, Mr. Miller told Newsmax.
President Trump also would want to choose someone able to “pull back some of the power from the entrenched bureaucracies and the Deep State” and can continue doing so in the future, Mr. Miller said.
However, Mr. Miller predicted that President Trump will continue to keep everyone guessing for now. And then, Mr. Miller said, “like only he can, make some sort of dramatic announcement at the time he feels is right.”
Iowa Blitz Taking Shape
Besides the speeches by Ms. Noem and Ms. Greene on Jan. 3 and Jan. 4, the Trump campaign’s early January schedule in Iowa includes a 7 p.m. CST Jan. 4 program featuring President Trump’s son, Eric Trump, in Ankney, a city where the former president held a rally on Dec. 2.
All three of those surrogates’ appearances are being billed as “MAGA events,” focused on “messaging,” Mr. Cheung said.So far, the 45th president is scheduled to give remarks at four “commit-to-caucus” rallies that encourage people to show up on Caucus Night and cast their votes for him.
He’ll start that sweep at 4 p.m. CST on Jan. 5 in Sioux Center, Iowa, followed by a 7:30 p.m. CST speech in Mason City.
The next day, President Trump is scheduled for two more back-to-back events: at 1 p.m. CST on Jan. 6, he’ll appear in Newton, then head to Clinton for a 4 p.m. CST rally.
Details and tickets for all of the former president’s campaign events are available on his website: www.donaldjtrump.com/events.
President Trump has promised a campaign “blitz” in Iowa, so additional events are expected to be added leading up to the Jan. 15 caucuses.
