KEOKUK, Iowa — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was running on a combination of beef jerky, sea salt potato chips and peanut M&M’s when she hit the stage to extol Donald Trump’s presidential bid.
To get there, Ms. Greene hopped a midafternoon flight to Moline, Illinois, drove two hours, stopped for a quick photo in front of a cornfield and met with a small group of Trump caucus captains to thank them for their hard work.
This is what life is like as a top surrogate for Mr. Trump and, in the case of Ms. Greene, a potential running mate.
“Let me tell you something. The man you want in the White House fighting to defend your freedoms, fighting to defend your speech, fighting to protect our border, fighting a Washington, D.C., that wants war … the only one you can trust is President Trump,” the Georgia Republican said during her nearly 50-minute speech Thursday evening.
“You have to convince all your friends, ‘Don’t waste your time voting for one of these other people. It is a waste of time, an absolute waste of time.’ We have to support Donald Trump.”
In 2016, Mr. Trump was praised for tapping Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate. The move was credited with helping to allay religious and social conservatives’ lingering concerns about the boisterous New Yorker’s commitment to their core issues.
SEE ALSO: Trump supporters weigh running mate prospects before primary voting begins
“Once Trump locked down his base with a loyal Christian running mate, he was free to go on offense with male independents on issues like immigration, foreign policy, the economy and ‘draining the swamp,’” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “Today, Trump’s weak spot is independent women partially due to the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
“In 2022, independent women did not follow suit and vote for Republican candidates for Congress like their male counterparts. They did just the opposite,” he said. “Bottom line, Trump must choose a candidate who can bring independent women to the GOP ticket in 2024.”
The jury is out on how that will play into Mr. Trump’s veepstakes calculus, though the tryouts are already underway.
It also is premature for a vice presidential selection because the first votes have not been cast in the Republican nomination race, though Mr. Trump remains the prohibitive favorite.
“It’s definitely audition time,” said Steve Bannon, a chief strategist in Mr. Trump’s White House. “You’re seeing how good you are on the campaign trail.
“Iowa and New Hampshire are where you can see where people have personal chemistry [with voters] and if they can sell their program, and their program right now is President Trump.”
Ms. Greene, perhaps Mr. Trump’s most loyal supporter on Capitol Hill, has developed a deep connection with voters who love her hard-nosed political approach.
“She’s not afraid to speak out,” said Brenda Noll, a 64-year-old retired day care worker who came to see Ms. Greene. “She needs to be vice president. … Those two together could get a lot more done because they’re not afraid to take crap from anybody.”
Others mentioned as Mr. Trump’s potential running mates include former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Kari Lake of Arizona, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
In September, Ms. Noem declared Mr. Trump “the leader, the fighter, that our country needs.” She promised her constituents she would do whatever she could to help him “win and save this country.”
She has been following through on that promise and recently headlined a rally in Iowa.
Ms. Noem met with local business leaders and caucus captains before addressing a packed house in Sioux City.
On the stump, Ms. Noem heralded Mr. Trump’s skills on taxes, trade and foreign policy.
“We would never have this situation going on like we see in the Middle East right now if he had been in the White House,” she said about the Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed. “We would never what was going on with Russian and Ukraine. He would be strong. He would be strong against North Korea.”
Ms. Noem also went after Mr. Trump’s chief Republican rivals. She criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for embracing COVID-19 lockdowns early on and cast Nikki Haley, an ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, as a flip-flopper.
“I don’t know who the real Nikki Haley is,” Ms. Noem said.
A day later in Keokuk, Ms. Greene slammed Ms. Haley for telling a New Hampshire crowd they would have to “correct” Iowa voters’ decision in the caucuses.
“That wasn’t very smart — Birdbrains, whatever,” she said, alluding to Mr. Trump’s nickname for Ms. Haley.
After closing her remarks, Ms. Greene posed for selfies and photos with people from the crowd. She also conducted a series of interviews with local and national news outlets.
“The most important message is, ‘We can trust President Trump,’” she said. “He has a four-year proven track record, and everyone else is copying his policies. We don’t need to go back to the Bush era. We are tired of establishment Republicans.”
Ms. Greene then jumped into a car for a two-hour ride to Cedar Rapids, where she planned to spend the night before catching a flight to Florida for a book signing event.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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