By STEVE BRAWNER | Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.
The New York Times reported last week that Sen. Tom Cotton is one of former President Trump’s top five choices to be his vice presidential running mate. They might seem to be a mismatched pair at first glance. But I can see it happening.
The article gave several reasons for Trump’s interest. Those include Cotton’s discipline, his skill in cable news interviews, his Army service, and his Harvard degrees. They worked closely together when Trump was in the White House.
Cotton told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Wednesday that neither Trump nor the Trump campaign has approached him about the job, and he declined to say whether he would accept it if offered.
There are obvious reasons why the two might seem to be a mismatched pair.
First, Cotton favors a more interventionist and muscular foreign policy than Trump does. For example, Cotton has criticized President Biden for not doing more to help Ukraine. Trump, meanwhile, has offered less than full support for Ukraine at times. That being said, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform in April that Ukrainian survival is important to the United States, but that Europe should be doing more. If that remains his position, Cotton would have no trouble defending it.
Second, selecting Cotton would not gain Trump any home-state Electoral College votes. Arkansas only has six, and there is no doubt they are going to Trump. On the other hand, with the country so polarized, chasing home-state electors may not be a primary motivation for presidential candidates these days. Instead, they are trying to check other boxes.
Finally, Cotton in 2020 voted to certify Biden’s election, which Trump doesn’t accept. In fact, the 2021 book “In Trump’s Shadow” reported that Cotton’s decision encouraged other Republicans to vote to certify. The day of the Capitol riot, Cotton released a statement saying, “It’s past time for the president to accept the results of the election, quit misleading the American people, and repudiate mob violence.”
Still, Cotton can handle that issue. He doesn’t say the election was stolen, but he has said there were problems with it. He also told the Democrat-Gazette that candidates have a right to challenge election results if they feel they were defrauded or cheated.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of reasons why the pairing might work. Cotton is more of a classical Reagan Republican than Trump is, so his selection might help Trump shore up his support in that wing of the party. At the same time, Cotton is skillful at picking and choosing his issues to appeal to the same “populist” voters to whom Trump appeals. Those middle-class Americans are more motivated by culture war issues and not so worried about certain traditional Republican economic issues like giving tax breaks to corporations.
Trump tapped into those sentiments by attacking America’s longstanding China trade policies and its failure to control immigration at the southern border. So has Cotton. Those two issues have more resonance with those populist voters than Ukraine does.
Moreover, Cotton’s aggressive style would fit Trump’s personality. Cotton will not appeal to some undecided voters. In fact, he will turn some of them off. But Trump hasn’t worried about offending certain voters, either.
Besides, there aren’t that many undecided voters left. This election, as many elections are these days, will be about motivating your own voters and driving up your opponent’s negatives. Cotton will attack Biden relentlessly in the campaign, just as he does now.
The New York Times article quoted Trump saying he would pick a running mate sometime close to the Republican National Convention, which starts July 15. A senior advisor was quoted saying that “anyone claiming to know who he will choose is lying.”
Trump could very well choose someone else. That means this might be one of those columns – like many, probably – that you can skim through and forget about.
Regardless, the 47-year-old Cotton will remain a national political figure. Trump could offer him a post in his cabinet. He considered appointing him to the Supreme Court during his term as president. There was talk of Cotton running for president this year, but he squelched that early in the process.
We’ll see if the vice presidential speculation gets squelched sometime between now and July 15.
Steve Brawner is a syndicated columnist published in 17 outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com.
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