As interesting as it is to see Kari Lake as the most popular vice presidential running mate for former President Donald Trump, it is no more than that right now — idle chatter that will not matter for more than a year — according to pollster John McLaughlin on Newsmax.
It is just too early to talk running mates, which will not be chosen until the 2024 GOP primary nominee is selected, as it is Trump and Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis running 1-2 right now in polling, McLaughlin told Saturday's "The Count."
"Kari Lake outpolled DeSantis to be the vice president among these conservative activists," McLaughlin told host Lidia Curanaj about the CPAC straw poll that had DeSantis as No. 2 to Trump for president and No. 2 to Lake for vice president. "And it's still very early, because you won't make that decision until after you lock up the nomination."
But Lake is "very aggressive" and a vocal supporter of Trump, McLaughlin noted.
As for DeSantis, McLaughlin predicted the Florida governor has an issue with being an "establishment" Republican candidate in a 2024 GOP primary field that figures to feature many of them.
Ultimately, McLaughlin said DeSantis and others like former South Carolina GOP Gov. Nikki Haley are going to split the establishment wing of the party, while Trump owns the America First/Make America Great Again lane that might be at least half of the current Republican Party across America and in key battleground states.
"So you know Donald Trump is flexing the muscles and getting ready, you know, getting his vote base; he's building his base," McLaughlin said. "His base is very strong. We saw it on national polls."
DeSantis officially jumping into the primary is "going to split the base" of establishment Never Trump voters.
"Ron DeSantis is running as the establishment candidate, and that's not a path to win," McLaughlin concluded. "I mean, Donald Trump is the right of center populist candidate. He represents the heartland of America. He represents, whether it's crime, immigration, cutting taxes — he's got the conservative base, and he's proven he can do the job as president.
"And Ron DeSantis is coming in because the establishment wants him to run. They want to stop Trump again. So, in 2016, they were afraid Donald Trump could win, you know. And now they're they're like going all out to stop him from winning, and they're not going to do it. Donald Trump is getting stronger every day."
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Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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