Trump's shortlist of VP candidates is all about who will go the lowest

The 2024 election is the first time that a former White House resident returned for a third run as the leader of a national party since 1892. Grover Cleveland’s return bid was still in the time when the national conventions selected the party’s vice-presidential candidate, and Cleveland got a new running mate when it came to his third try for the presidency. 

However, it’s easy to see that no smoke-filled room is going to be required to convince Donald Trump to pick a new VP candidate. Not only did Mike Pence fail to clear the will-coup-for-you bar, it’s not even clear that Pence is all that interested in literally putting his neck on the line.

No worries. Trump has developed a VP shortlist that includes plenty of potential sycophants who would never dream of crossing the boss.