While many Trump supporters have focused on who they don’t want to be the former president’s vice president, one powerful–and often outspoken–Republican has thrown his considerable weight behind someone he does want.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, a trusted adviser of Donald Trump, has begun backing Elise Stefanik for vice president.
The Washington Examiner writes:
After giving a tribute to former President Richard Nixon at the Richard Nixon Foundation on what would have been his 111th birthday on Tuesday, Gingrich said, “I’m a very big fan of Elise’s. Certainly, if there is a short list for vice president, she should be on it.”
His comments came after the House Republican Conference chairwoman performed well on last Sunday’s Meet the Press. On that show, she said that she would be “honored” to join the Trump ticket.
“I absolutely believe that she has sort of fought her way onto the national stage and I hope that she will continue to grow and develop and certainly my advice to the president would certainly be to consider her on whatever short list he develops for potential vice presidential nominees,” Gingrich said.
Stefanik recently made headlines during a hearing in which she stood up to Ivy League presidents over antisemitism on their campus and it’s paid off, raising her profile tremendously.
The Daily Beast reports that the hearing was a boon for fundraising, writing that the New York congresswoman “raised over $5.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 with an average donation of $25. Some 35,000 first-time donors contributed to the haul, which takes the House Republican conference chair’s overall fundraising to more than $13 million for the 2024 election cycle.”
Last year, New Conservative Post noted that Stefanik was primed to be a frontrunner to be Trump’s running mate. “Last year, with help from former President Trump, she took out Liz Cheney as Chair of House Republican Caucus, but now the thirty-eight-year-old mom may be eyeing an even bigger position: the vice presidency.
The Daily Caller explains that ‘Stefanik fits the profile of characteristics Trump’s team will be looking for in a VP. She’s rallied behind him in his impeachment proceedings and the New York indictment, and was the first member of GOP leadership to endorse him for president — throwing her weight behind his candidacy before Trump announced it himself. Her commitment could lead Trump to choose her on a basis of loyalty, which those close to Trump say is the most desired quality in a VP.'”
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