‘Trump’s VP’ becomes topic of fascination on day after Iowa victory

NEWS AND OPINION:

Yes, many people around the nation are interested in what former President Donald Trump has to say this week. They are also interested in who his potential running mate would be as Election Day slowly but surely approaches.

The phrase “Trump’s VP” was among the top five phrases trending Tuesday on the social media platform X, along with multiple references to Mr. Trump himself, “Taco Tuesday” and “Republicans in Iowa.”

Instant online polls created by users that gauged the popularity of possible contenders were also a factor in on social media — and some of them drew thousands of responses. And the suggested identities of possible “veeps”?

Here is just a sample of the names that were included in these polls, in no particular order:

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy; U.S. Senate hopeful Kari Lake; former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson; and independent media maven Tucker Carlson.

It is of note that Mr. Trump has hinted that he has already made his choice for a running mate in an appearance at a Fox News town meeting in Iowa on Jan. 10.

“Who would be in the running for vice president?” moderator Martha MacCallum asked.

“I can’t tell you that. But I already know who it’s going to be,” Mr. Trump replied.

FOXIFIED

Fox News has revealed how many viewers tuned in to the network Monday night for coverage of the 2024 Iowa caucuses. Coverage from 8 to 11 p.m. Eastern time drew 2.8 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

That number more than quadrupled CNN’s audience of 688,000 in the same prime-time period and more than doubled MSNBC’s audience of 1.1 million during those hours.

THE TRUMP PRESS

The news media, for the most part, were eager to cover former President Donald Trump’s interest in a potential return to the White House.

Here are a few headlines from the past 24 hours:

“Trump’s sweeping Iowa victory leaves little room for foes” (The Wall Street Journal); “The most durable force in American politics: Trump’s ties to his voters” (The New York Times); Every awful thing Trump has promised to do in a second term” (Rolling Stone); “Election 2024: Trump wins Iowa caucuses and reinforces grip on GOP” (The Associated Press); “Nikki Haley refuses more presidential debates unless Trump participates” (CNBC); “Trump is already reshaping geopolitics” (Foreign Affairs); “Sheer panic from European leaders on potential second Trump term: Ian Bremmer” (Yahoo Finance); and “It’s Trump’s world, we’re just living in it” (National Review).

HERE COME ‘THE CLEARIES’

Each year, the Election Assistance Commission invites submissions for its national Clearinghouse Awards, or “Clearies” for short.

“Under the Help America Vote Act of 2002, the EAC is charged with serving as a clearinghouse for election administration information. By celebrating innovative efforts from state and local election offices, the Clearies helps the EAC to fulfill this important mission,” the commission said in a statement shared with Inside the Beltway.

“Throughout the 2023 elections, election officials and their staff have continued to meet the challenges of an ever-evolving elections landscape. EAC Commissioners frequently visit offices at the state and local level and recognize the tremendous efforts needed to address issues ranging from vital security concerns to growing accessibility needs,” the commission said.

Interested? Submissions will be accepted until March 1. Find the details at EAC.gov.

‘BIDEN’S WEAKNESS’

Some are concerned about how the U.S. fares on the world stage.

“Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for an attack near the U.S. Consulate in Erbil, Iraq. This keeps happening because terrorists know President Biden is weak — and that weakness has put U.S. forces and allies around the world in mortal danger,” said Jake Schneider, director of rapid response for the Republican National Committee, in a written statement shared with Inside the Beltway.

“On Friday, Biden said he ‘already delivered’ a message to Iran: ‘They know not to do anything.’ Clearly, they aren’t listening. Iran’s attack was only the latest perpetrated by the world’s largest state sponsor of terror and its network of rebel forces; they have launched at least 131 attacks against U.S. personnel since October 17,” Mr. Schneider said.

“It’s a direct result of Biden’s weakness. Biden took office by promising American diplomacy was ‘back.’ Since then, the Biden administration has enriched the Iranian regime north of $100 billion as they pursued a failed nuclear deal. Meanwhile, the entirety of Biden’s deterrence strategy against Iran has been one word: ‘don’t.’ What do you expect?” he asked.

POLL DU JOUR

• 60% of U.S. adults are “very interested” in the 2024 presidential election; 68% of Republicans, 50% of independents and 66% of Democrats agree.

• 22% overall are “somewhat interested”; 23% of Republicans, 22% of independents and 22% of Democrats agree.

• 8% overall are “not very interested” in the election; 5% of Republicans, 10% of independents and 6% of Democrats agree.

• 6% overall are “not at all interested” in the election; 3% of Republicans, 11% of independents and 3% of Democrats agree.

• 4% overall are not sure how they feel about the election; 2% of Republicans, 7% of independents and 3% of Democrats agree.

SOURCE: A YouGov online survey of 33,838 U.S. adults conducted Monday.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on X @HarperBulletin, on Facebook @HarperUniverse.