On January 20, 2025, Donald John Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States. For better or for worse, Donald Trump is destined to be vindicated and absolved of all sins. A closed border, pardons, retribution – who knows what the next four years will bring?
There is nothing that Joe Biden can do about it, short of closing down the border, continuing to build the wall, and instituting a deportation program for all who entered this country illegally since he became President. His failed, unexplained immigration policy will prove to be the coup de grace to his reelection hopes, yet Joe Biden remains steadfast as the final blow is struck.
Donald Trump has proven himself to be a remarkably resilient, clever, and pragmatic man. His entire life, including his time as the 45th President, is a testament to his willingness to push the limits of socially acceptable morality, ethics, and legality. His egocentric and ultimately self-destructive behavior led to his electoral loss in 2020, when a majority of Americans decided that they had had enough of Donald Trump, preferring a basement-dwelling Joe Biden instead.
But now the overriding impression of Joe Biden is that he suffers from a weakness of mind that has led to a series of disastrous policies and decisions, combined with a stubbornness of character that belies his old age and brings with it the promise of further cognitive decline.
Joe Biden cannot win by simply portraying Donald Trump as a Hitler-like anti-Christ who will destroy this country and its democratic foundations. Joe Biden will be expected to defend his record as President, which seems to be at best a herculean task, and to debate Donald Trump, which is not likely to go very well for Joe Biden, to say the least.
President Biden’s record includes the selection of an embarrassingly inept Vice-President, a tragically disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the inability/unwillingness to control the illegal influx of people entering this country across the southern border, a disturbing increase in organized crime and retail theft, and economic policies that are perceived to have created rampant inflation and led to financial distress for many Americans.
In addition, there is the ongoing inquiry into his family’s foreign business activities and their receipt of millions of dollars that were deposited into a series of shell companies in a manner suggestive of secretive illegal activities.
Moreover, this country’s relationships with North Korea and Iran have significantly deteriorated during President Biden’s administration, which is indicative of an ineffective foreign policy strategy. It must be mentioned as well that President Biden took no action as Russia openly built up its military along the Ukrainian border and stated its intention to invade.
In contrast, Donald Trump presided over a time of relative peace and prosperity. He was slow to respond to COVID-19, and he was dismissive and insulting towards many highly qualified people who were in his administration as well as towards much of the established media. However, it must be acknowledged that Donald Trump effectively secured the southern border and brought a sense of well-being to the country until the COVID epidemic.
In addition, Donald Trump seemed to have been somewhat humbled by his loss to Joe Biden, as well as by the number of legal cases brought against him for sexual misconduct, dubious business practices, strong-arm efforts to change the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election, and egotistical removal of Presidential records and documents outside of established chain-of-custody.
That being said, Donald Trump’s recent actions suggest that any self-reflection he may have experienced has only reinforced his sense of innate superiority.
Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee and should win the 2024 Presidential election in a landslide. The legal cases brought against him for alleged criminal acts are unlikely to be fully resolved before the 2024 election, and therefore will not be a factor in the election.
All of which brings us to Donald Trump’s selection of a vice-presidential running mate.
Donald Trump does not need to balance his ticket in order to win the election. His most fervent supporters will bless any choice he makes. Independent voters may have second thoughts should he choose someone seen to be extremist in their views or too inexperienced to be an effective president in the event of Donald Trump’s death or life-changing illness. However, Donald Trump is unlikely to make such an ill-advised choice.
Donald Trump is also unlikely to choose someone that would threaten his preeminence by actively seeking media attention, speaking too independently, and prematurely assuming the mantle of heir apparent.
A bland and attractive candidate such as Mike Pence but not Mike Pence is much more likely. Think Kristi Noem or Nancy Mace, for example. Both are fervent Trump supporters, and being women who speak with clarity and purpose would offer a perfect contrast to Vice-President Kamala Harris. Both would provide great optics for his campaign. Unfortunately, neither is particularly qualified to be President.
If Donald Trump really wanted his selection of a running mate to be made with the best interests of the country in mind, he could do no better than to select Condoleezza Rice. Condoleezza Rice was National Security Advisor and then Secretary of State under President George W. Bush, and is currently director of the Hoover Institution, a highly respected conservative policy think tank associated with Stanford University, one of this country’s preeminent universities.
This is a time when a woman of Condoleezza Rice’s experience in foreign affairs would be a great asset to the next Trump administration. Her conservative credentials are strong, she is a serious person with great intellect, and she understands diplomacy. She could certainly survive in a Trump administration, understanding her place as a solid and thoughtful second in command.
While she is 69 years old, and not part of “a new generation of leaders,” Condoleezza Rice has the wisdom and perspective that this country needs right now. If allowed to do so, she could most assuredly create a conservative think tank within the Trump administration to provide the President with timely, knowledgeable and pragmatic advice on domestic policy to be sure, but most critically on global strategy.
The next administration must be able to present a formidable deterrent to counteract the many destabilizing forces around the world. Condoleezza Rice probably has more experience in this arena than anyone else.
In addition, Condoleezza Rice has the gravitas to excel as President if circumstances arose that would require her to assume this role. President Trump needs to take this into consideration when selecting his running mate, as he is not much younger than old Joe Biden, is seriously overweight, and by all accounts eats poorly.
This is why Condoleezza Rice should be Donald Trump’s first choice.
Unfortunately, it is not clear if Donald Trump’s ego would even allow him to seriously entertain the choice of such an accomplished woman.
If he did ask – would she agree to serve in such a role? Given Condoleezza Rice’s past service to this country, I think she would accept. This would make me feel much better about President Trump the second time around.