Speculation and polling about Trump’s running mate

NEWS AND OPINION:

Former President Donald Trump is already established as a major player in the 2024 presidential race. His choice of a running mate will be a crucial factor in his campaign. But who will be Mr. Trump’s choice as second-in-command?

That subject is already a source of interest to pollsters. For starters, here’s a NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ survey that gauges the appeal of Mr. Trump’s potential partners.

“Who among the following would you most prefer as the running mate for former President Trump in the 2024 presidential election?” asked the survey, which was released Tuesday.

Here’s what it revealed:

Former Vice President Mike Pence was in the lead with 15% of the vote, followed by Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina with 13%, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley with 12% and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia with 6%.

Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake followed with 5% support, along with Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, also with 5%, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (3%), former Michigan gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon (2%) and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (1%).

And here are the most telling numbers of all. The survey also found that 38% of respondents said “someone else” was their choice.

The poll of 1,000 registered U.S. voters was conducted May 25-26.

FOR THE LEXICON

“AirBnB for illegal aliens.”

This phrase comes from HotAir.com analyst David Strom, who used it to describe New York Mayor Eric Adams’ latest strategy to manage the ongoing arrival of migrants in the Big Apple.

“Adams wants New Yorkers to open their homes to illegal aliens for a fee,” Mr. Strom summarized.

“The real problem, of course, is the open border and President Biden’s unwillingness to enforce immigration and border laws. The open border has become an open sore on the body politic, and Republicans need to keep the pressure on the Blue cities and states to pressure Biden to act responsibly” Mr. Strom later said.

“Only Democrats can apply any pressure that matters. It’s time that they did,” he said.

‘ACTION NEEDED’

The Government Accountability Office — that’s GAO for short — issued a weighty report Tuesday titled “The Nation’s Fiscal Health: Action Needed to Address Projected Unsustainable Debt Levels.”

That report was also presented Tuesday before the House Financial Services subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy by Jeff Arkin, director of strategic issues for the GAO.

“The growing debt is a consequence of borrowing to finance increasingly large annual budget deficits. The federal government has run a deficit — where spending is greater than revenues — in every fiscal year since 2002,” Mr. Arkin told the lawmakers.

The issue is complex and has been problematic and challenging for some time.

“Since 2017, GAO has stated that a plan is needed to address the government’s fiscal outlook and promote a sustainable fiscal policy,” the agency said in its summary of the situation.

Curious about all this? Find both the summary and the full 12-page report at GAO.gov, under the “Budget and Spending” category.

ONE FOR WILLA

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will join lawmakers and elected leaders from Nebraska on Wednesday in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall, home to 35 significant statues — all gifts from a state rather than an individual or group of citizens.

Mr. McCarthy and company will be there to witness the dedication ceremony and unveiling of a statue honoring Pulitzer Prize-winning author Willa Cather, the heartland author of “O Pioneers” and other novels that highlighted the heroism and courage of Americans hailing from Nebraska.

“Willa Cather was one of the country’s most beloved authors, writing about the Great Plains and the spirit of America,” Mr. McCarthy said in a written statement.

Nebraskans are very much aware of the event.

“The ceremony will be broadcast live on C-Span and on the website of the speaker of the House. The public is also invited to viewing parties at the Nebraska History Museum in Lincoln and at the National Willa Cather Center’s Opera House in Red Cloud. The events are free and open to everyone,” the Omaha World-Herald reported on Tuesday.

“Willa Cather epitomizes the Nebraska values we hold so dearly — a focus on family, a love of learning, the power of our experiences to shape us, and optimism for the future,” Sen. Pete Ricketts, Nebraska Republican, said in his weekly column, published online by his office on Friday.

FOXIFIED

In the week of May 29-June 4, Fox News marked its 120th consecutive week as the most watched network in cable news through the day and into the prime-time hours, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The network earned a nightly average of 1.4 million prime-time viewers, compared with MSNBC’s average audience of 991,000 and CNN’s of 512,000. Fox News also aired 75 of the top 100 cable news telecasts that week.

The standout programs were “The Five,” with 2.5 million viewers, “Hannity” with 2.1 million and “Jesse Watters Primetime” with 2 million. Late-night fare on “Gutfeld” averaged 1.6 million that week. In the mornings, “Fox & Friends” continued to best the competition for the 115th week in a row with a million viewers, compared with 343,000 who tuned into “CNN This Morning” and the 894,000 who went with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

POLL DU JOUR

• 11% of U.S. adults describe their political viewpoint as “very conservative.”

• 18% describe their political viewpoint as “conservative.”

• 33% describe their political viewpoint as “moderate.”

• 15% describe their political viewpoint as “liberal.”

• 10% describe their political viewpoint as “very liberal.”

• 12% are “not sure” how to describe their political viewpoint.

SOURCE: A Yahoo News survey of 1,520 U.S. adults conducted May 25-26.

• Contact Jennifer Harper at jharper@washingtontimes.com.