House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik was once a Trump skeptic during the 2016 campaign and in the early days of his presidency. She has since emerged as one of the former president’s most ardent supporters in Congress.
Stefanik delivered a strong defense of Trump during his 2019 impeachment trial, which positioned her as a “Republican star,” as the then-president said at the time. She then objected to Biden’s 2020 win in the House and promoted election lies.
Trump has at various times asked donors and allies what they think about Stefanik as a potential vice president, though her perceived zeal for the job turned off some of the former president’s advisers, one person close to Trump previously told CNN.
Stefanik — who was among the candidates who were sent various levels of paperwork in the vice-presidential vetting process — has publicly expressed interest in becoming Trump’s running mate or for a Cabinet position if he wins. The congresswoman, who was first elected in 2014, told CNN earlier this year that she’s “proud to be a top surrogate” and “would proudly serve in a future Trump administration.”
Former Housing and Urban Development secretary Ben Carson challenged Trump for the Republican nomination in 2016. And while Carson — who didn’t win a single primary contest — didn’t immediately endorse Trump, he did offer a strong defense of the man who would eventually become president.
“People who think Donald Trump would be the worst thing that ever happened … you make a really big mistake by trying to thwart the will of the people,” Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, said while suspending his campaign.
Once Trump was elected, Carson turned down the then-president-elect’s offer to be his health and human services secretary. But he eventually led the Department of Housing and Urban Development, despite criticism that he was not qualified to do so.
Carson — who is among the candidates who received various levels of paperwork in the vice-presidential vetting process — disagrees with Trump’s stance on one key issue: Abortion. In his new book, “The Perilous Fight,” Carson argued in favor of a legislation that “guarantees the right to life for all American citizens, including those still in the womb.” Trump has said that he would not sign a federal abortion ban if he’s back in office.
Florida Rep. Byron Donalds is a Trump loyalist and one of the former president’s most trusted surrogates. He rose to prominence in Trump world last year when he endorsed Trump over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Republican presidential primary, and he has received routine praise and public support from the former president.
He was part of a launch of the “Black Americans for Trump” group meant to target Black voters as the Trump campaign seeks to win over voters from the traditionally Democratic bloc. Donalds has been outspoken on related issues, including controversial comments he made earlier this month suggesting that Black families were “together” during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation.
Donalds has been confident that if selected as Trump’s vice president, he would be able to assume the role of commander in chief, if necessary, and said he will support Trump however he decides.
“I think that I have the ability to step in,” Donalds said in June on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I’m actually pretty intelligent.”
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