By Basab Dasgupta
With Donald Trump and Joe Biden securing the nominations for their respective parties in the 2024 US presidential race, the only suspense remaining before the November election is to see who Trump will choose to be his running mate. Speculations are rampant, and chances are that just like 2016 when Trump selected someone no one anticipated (Mike Pence), all these speculations might prove to be false.
As an Indian American, I had high hopes that Nikki Haley would have it wrapped up even after she declared her candidacy for presidency. She is smart, articulate, easy on the eye and has experience as a two-time governor of S. Carolina as well as international experience as a UN ambassador. Many people believe that, had Trump picked Haley as his running mate in 2020, he would have won. Although her relationship with Trump was occasionally rocky, I believed that she had the political savvy to patch things up and be a loyal confidant of Trump.
Trump did not even make any negative comments about her when she announced her decision to run against him. He was probably willing to wait and see how she did in the early primaries. Unfortunately for her, she did not do well and lost in all the first three primaries, including the one in S. Carolina. It was a no-brainer for her to suspend her campaign after that loss in her home state and endorse Trump just like Ron DeSantis did.
I do not know what got into her; probably an unrealistic ambition of defeating Trump making age an issue and then Biden (some polls indicated that she had a better chance of defeating Biden than Trump) to become the first female POTUS. Her aspirations were fueled by big money donations from not only traditional GOP supporters like the Koch brothers but reportedly some democratic billionaires as well. She seemed to be convinced that Trump will remain entangled in legal troubles paving a smooth pathway for her.
Her continuing campaign until the “Super Tuesday” and refusal to endorse Trump rang death knells to any hope of her being Trump’s running mate, especially since it was Trump who gave her international name recognition by appointing her to the UN post.
Senator Tim Scott and Governor Ron DeSantis have been repeatedly mentioned as likely choices for Trump. Many people were not optimistic early on about Trump’s prospects because of his age and legal problems and regarded DeSantis as a successor to lead the GOP. However, DeSantis failed to ignite the base and dropped out. While DeSantis has a large following and wealthy supporters and demonstrated his highly effective leadership as governor of Florida, he is probably too hands-on a person to be satisfied with a Vice President’s job. Tim Scott might be attractive to African American voters but he is relatively unknown on the national scene.
Of course, I will be thrilled if Trump selects Vivek Ramaswami (VR), the other GOP Indian American presidential candidate as his running mate. VR has impressed many people by his ability to articulate difficult topics and if nothing else, he can be an excellent spokesperson for Trump. Trump has a problem with articulation and often ends up saying something that he does not even mean. VR can come to the rescue and clarify Trump’s messages. VR and Trump think alike, and VR may be described as Trump’s “mini me”.
While I believe that VR has a bright future in US politics and might become president someday, it is more likely that he will have to settle with a cabinet position if Trump wins the election. Although Trump and VR seem to have a great rapport, Trump probably does not want someone just like him (wealthy, without too much political experience, outspoken) as his running mate.
According to almost all pundits, Trump needs a female candidate who can appeal to the suburban housewives, reportedly the biggest hurdle for Trump among voters. He also needs a woman who can help him effectively deliver his message on abortion – almost an impossible task for any man.
Based on the observations that Trump likes loyalty and beauty in a woman plus administrative experience, the choice seemed obvious: Kristi Noem, the governor of S. Dakota. Noem is also an excellent speaker and kept S. Dakota open during the pandemic.
However, recently she has been embroiled in multiple controversies. First, she was banned from entering several tribal Indian reservations in South Dakota because she was reportedly promoting an anti-indigenous agenda with her policies and speeches; in particular, she has accused tribal leaders of being in cahoots with Mexican drug cartels allowing drug business on tribal lands. More recently, she wrote about an incident in an upcoming memoir whereby she killed a pet puppy because the dog turned out to be a huge nuisance. This understandably caused a big uproar in the pet-loving American society among both democrats and republicans.
These incidents have raised doubts if Noem is the right candidate to be Trump’s VP. Trump needs someone who is beyond reproach.
That leaves the door open for a “dark horse” candidate who is not even a republican: Tulsi Gabbard who was a House member from Hawaii during 2013 to 2021. Gabbard was a democrat and ran in 2020 as a democratic presidential candidate. The MAGA crowd loved the way she destroyed Kamala Harris’ presidential aspirations in one debate. Gabbard became disenchanted with her party and left it in October 2022 citing that the “party is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness”. She also accused the democrats of being anti-spirituality and stoking anti-white racism.
I admire Gabbard because unlike any other candidate for high level political positions, she served in the military. Fighting for one’s country is the ultimate proof of one’s love for the country. She is extremely articulate and intelligent. She is anti-war which would put her in the same camp as Trump. She grew up in Hawaii engaged in surfing and other outdoor activities and has a great figure to show for it.
Since she is independent, she will be able to attract the independent voters and even right-leaning democrats. Her recent book, “For Love of Country: Leave the Democrat Party Behind” is well-written and destined to inspire all right-leaning readers.
Even though Gabbard is not of Indian origin, she has embraced Hinduism as her religion. She is known as the “First Hindu in Congress” and took her oath of house membership holding Bhagavat Geeta. Her name has Sanskrit origin and means “Holy basil “. It is often personified as an avatar of Lakshmi and associated with good fortune, prosperity and beauty.
My vote goes to Tulsi Gabbard as my choice to be Trump’s running mate. I hope that she will justify her name in that role.
===================
Basab Dasgupta has a doctorate in physics from University of Wisconsin and worked with Sony as Vice President of an operating division. Retired, he now lives in San Clemente, CA.
Disclaimer: The views expressed are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times
