Is the Georgia Congresswoman making moves to become second in command in 2024?
It's no secret that MTG is a staunch supporter of the former one-term president, but the rumour-mill is now working overtime on the notion that she is making moves to become Trump's running mate on the 2024 presidential campaign.
Sources close to MTG, have spoken to NBC about her intentions. On the subject of her career aspirations, former Trump aide Steve Bannon commented:
This is no shrinking violet. She's ambitious — she's not shy about that, nor should she be. She sees herself on the short list for Trump's VP.
Where's the evidence?
To date Trump has given no indication of his preference for the VP role. However, Bannon interprets MTG's move to help elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy to Speaker of the House after midterm elections as a calculated one, designed to create a perception of her as a politician who can stand astride the divide between the party's hard-liners and its establishment wing. Bannon describes the play as:
.....both strategic and disciplined — she made a power move, knowing it would run up hard against her most ardent crew. She was prepared to take the intense heat/hatred short-term for the long-term goal of being a player.
Strategic affiliations
Another reason for MTG's backing of McCarthy would seem to be down to a long-running alliance between the pair, helped by the fact that McCarthy had previously suggested that he would support Taylor-Greene in being reinstated to Oversight Committees if she won another term in office and Republicans took control of the House of Representatives. McCarthy made good on that promise on January 18.
Taylor-Greene was stripped of all committee assignments a year ago after all Democrats and 11 Republicans voted in favor of this action after she openly advocated for violence against certain members of the senate. Last week, McCarthy assigned Greene to the homeland security and oversight committees, both of which are likely to be key to the success of Republican attacks on the Biden administration in the foreseeable future.
How well-suited is she to being Trump's VP?
Undeniably divisive, direct and unafraid to voice controversial opinions, Taylor-Greene has rapidly become a figurehead for the pro-Trump far right since her election to Congress in 2020. In that regard, a partnership with Trump would seem an obvious match.
However, her detractors are quick to refer to a litany of extreme views she has expressed since being in the public eye, which must have undermined her credibility to some degree. These include:
- Believing there’s some “truth” to the conspiracy theories spread by QAnon, which claims that Democrats are part of a Satanic cabal of cannibals operating a global sex trafficking ring that conspired against Trump while he was in office
- Not believing in evolution
- Suggesting school shootings like Parkland and Sandy Hook were false flags and/or staged by Democrats to get gun control legislation passed
- Harassing David Hogg, a survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, screaming at him on the street that he was a “coward” who was using children to further anti-gun initiatives
- Endorsing calls for Clinton, Pelosi, and Obama to be executed
- Insisting there’s no evidence a plane crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11
- Blaming the California wildfires on Jewish laser beams
- Introducing a bill that would criminalize transgender medical care
- Speaking at an event put on by a well-known white nationalist
- Voting against cancer patients
Can she depend on Republican support?
Interestingly, concerns about Taylor-Greene's judgment, have recently been vocalised from within the GOP. On January 22, in an interview with ABC News, Texan Republican Michael McCaul - the newly elected chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs - suggested that while MTG has "matured" during her time in the House of Representatives, it would be incumbent upon other members of Congress to help educate her in order that she doesn't fall-foul of other conspiracy theories in future.
Profile-building
In spite of the wealth of issues currently being faced by Americans across the nation, including the cost-of-living crisis and other issues arising from the ongoing uncertainty around the globe, it seems MTG is increasingly more interested in personal agendas and matters of partisan politics.
So far this year Taylor-Greene has already been vocal about supporting the defunding of the IRS to put a hold on the recruitment of a further 87,000 agents to investigate tax evasion. She's also applied the same approach to other federal divisions, including the ATF (after they introduced a law to prevent gun owners from using pistol braces on their weapons) and has called for the defunding of the special counsel appointed to investigate Donald Trump, in a series of attention-grabbing political moves.
With Meta having confirmed that they will soon be reinstating Trump's social media privileges on Facebook and Instagram, one thing we can be sure of is that when Trump chooses to publicise his preference for running mate, social media will ensure we are all aware. No doubt Taylor-Greene, who is almost as prolific as Trump in her use of Twitter, will be following suit, whether she is amplifying Trump's messaging or promoting her own agenda as a confirmed VP candidate. Time will tell.
Is Marjorie Taylor-Greene suited for the role of Vice President? Could she serve the US public, or is she too entrenched in her own political perspectives and agendas? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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