Days after Ted Cruz announced that Carly Fiorina would be his running mate (if he can magically become the Republican nominee after being mathematically eliminated in the primaries), female GOP lawmakers are calling on Donald Trump to follow Cruz’s example. According to a story in The Hill, Rep. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming advanced the idea at a Heritage Foundation event this week.
“I would suggest a woman, because some of the remarks he has made about women are not going to help him appeal to some of the 53 percent of the voting populace that are women,” Lummis said.
Lummis suggested Condoleezza Rice and Kelly Ayotte as possibilities, and others at the event went further, naming a host of women who might be up for the job: New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley among them. But there are reasons to wonder if any of them would accept Trump’s VP spot, or if he would have any interest in them to begin with.
Even if there were a female Republican who seemed like the obvious, can’t-miss-it choice, you have to wonder if this move would make a difference in Trump’s polling numbers. It just feels like such a pandering move. Something that is so typically “Washington” that it might actually chip away at some of Trump’s invaluable mystique. If he can choose a woman who is unbelievably qualified and whose alliance with Trump makes ideological sense, then by all means, go for it. But if it feels forced or fake, it’s not going to work.
That said, Trump does have a problem and he won’t win in November if he can’t solve it. More damning than his already-shaky perception among women will be the media coverage leading up to the election. It would be ridiculous to suggest that the media’s coverage of Trump thus far has been positive, but you haven’t seen anything yet. Once he’s the nominee, you’re going to be witness to one of the most astounding character assassinations in the history of this country. One dreads to wonder what they’re already sitting on, just waiting for the right moment to drop it on the American people.
That doesn’t mean Hillary’s inauguration is inevitable. When it comes to Trump, predictions are meaningless. He’s defied the media onslaught so far, and that’s more than anyone expected. If women begin to see him the way so many Republican men see him, he can turn this around.
But if the media can successfully frame this as Women Vs. Trump…well, forget it. And a female VP isn’t going to matter.
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