Sarah Palin Responds to Kimberly Guilfoyle's Question: 'What Should President Trump Be Looking for in a Choice' for Vice President?
Kimberly Guilfoyle leaned into former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s experience as a vice presidential nominee when she invited her on her Rumble show on January 15, asking Palin what former President Donald Trump should look for in a running mate if he wins the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Palin, who energized the late Sen. John McCain’s campaign in 2008 and, in the process, made history as the GOP’s first female vice presidential nominee, listed the characteristics she deems vital for someone running alongside Trump.
If polling is to be trusted, Trump’s Iowa Caucus landslide win was the first of many for him in this primary season. While it’s never good to assume victory is sure, it would be a mistake for the former president not to zone in on the person he wants as his number 2. For his part, Trump said during a Fox News town hall on January 10 that he has already selected his running mate, a statement his team later downplayed.
“I know who it's going to be,” the frontrunner declared, also stating, of course, “Oh, I can’t tell you that really.”
Whether he has made the choice already—and I’m inclined to believe he has—or is mulling it over, the topic is on people’s minds, and when asked, Palin weighed in with a list of characteristics essential for Trump’s VP candidate.
The former governor of Alaska, who ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022, highlighted experience as a top priority, particularly “administrative experience,” emphasizing that this attribute is necessary even to wisely delegate and hire personnel.
The video below is a compilation of Palin’s points:
Palin has often spoken about the need for leaders to be able to withstand the darts and arrows that come with the territory. She again pointed this out, describing the need for someone who has been tested, who has “been through the wringer.” The attacks against candidates, their families, and their records are not new to the former governor, so who better to understand what it means to have already endured the battles to come, especially being paired with Trump, who is the left’s main target?
The next characteristic she named is longevity. She stated well the propensity for the media and politicians to make heroes out of people who have zoomed in with a personality or performance and all of a sudden, they’re positioned on a pedestal—talked about as someone’s VP pick. Palin, however, warned against selecting someone “who’s hot today, who just said something spectacular.”
This aligns with her later point that a person’s record must be examined. Republicans do seem to gravitate toward those who have jumped on the bandwagon, eager to parade them as the latest party convert. While conceding that some may have suddenly “seen the light,” which, of course, is good, it’s vital to exercise good judgment and look hard at what their record reveals about them, Palin stated. A person’s record is “telling,” she added.
Checking boxes is a thing among Democrats. They generally have no problem announcing that they’re looking to prop up a woman or a black person or whoever is their useful tool during that election cycle. Palin pushed back against that, stating that “normal” people know this is not the way to go. She believes Trump knows not to check boxes, not to fall for that “inside baseball stuff.” Is she opposed to his selecting, say, a woman? Of course not. Again, she remains the only Republican woman chosen to run for vice president. She and Guilfoyle both stressed that if it’s a woman, let her be selected because she is the most qualified. Palin herself was chosen as someone who had enjoyed an approval rating as governor as high as 93 percent and who possesses a long list of accomplishments, highlighted here.
Furthermore, Trump needs to select someone who embodies loyalty, Palin continued, calling the quality “rare” and mentioning that some have stabbed Trump in the back. Guilfoyle, who is in a longtime relationship with Donald Trump Jr., clearly agreed, expressing hopeful confidence that Trump has a solid circle around him now. No doubt, Palin is included among the Trump loyalists, endorsing him early for his 2016 run for president over others who were deemed more palatable at the time and continuing to support him as he led the country for four years and is vying for four more in the face of election interference, personal attacks, and the threat of prison for politically motivated charges.
At the end of the day, the 2008 vice presidential nominee believes the 45th president will “do the right thing” in his selection.
Let’s take a look at some of the names being discussed as possible running mates for Trump. Judge for yourself how they measure up to Palin’s list of required characteristics:
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD)
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who ran against Trump for the 2024 nomination;
House Republican Conference chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY)
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR), who was also Trump’s press secretary
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL)
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has a wide range of experience, including being in Trump’s first administration
Former Gov. and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R-SC), who is currently in the race against Trump and who is not viewed favorably by Trump’s camp
Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who also ran against Trump, defended him constantly on the journey, and suspended his campaign after the Iowa Caucus
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH)
Dr. Ben Carson, a candidate for president in 2016 who later became Trump’s secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)
Arizona’s Kari Lake (R-AZ) the Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat-turned Obama supporter-turned-Republican again who lost her gubernatorial bid in 2022 and is currently running for the U.S. Senate.
Other names are being bandied about, but I don’t see the need to include them. I already included a name or two that I really don’t believe are serious considerations.
As I balance in my mind Palin’s common sense list of characteristics for the next vice presidential nominee, many being discussed as Trump’s running mates get a ✅ on some things but a big ❌ on others. I don’t know that anyone gets the 👍🏾 on all. The name not being mentioned is a person who does meet the list in its entirety—and that’s Palin herself. Guilfoyle asked her to look into the “Sarah Palin crystal ball” and tell her whom she likes as a VP contender, but Palin did not offer a name. Indeed, it is a daunting task to boil down the individual who will have massive responsibilities as vice president and will be next in line to lead the country if the president can no longer do so. Just look at where we are now. President Joe Biden—God bless him—is not up to the task, and Vice President Kamala Harris is, sadly, an embarrassment. Even Democrats don’t like her. Absolutely no one wants to see her running the show.
Trump has not yet won the nomination, so if he hasn’t yet, there is time for him to decide, but with the New Hamshire primary just days away—on Tuesday—a win for him there and/or a win in South Carolina will only multiply the number of times we hear the question Kimberly Guilfoyle asked Sarah Palin this week: “Who will be the VP?”
Assuming Trump secures the nomination, whom do you envision as a great vice presidential choice? Leave a comment: