Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

Donald Trump “won” a big victory in the Republican South Carolina presidential primary recently and if one had blinked, they would have missed something. Oh, nothing spectacularly, because the fight for the delegates’ vote was over before voters even went to the polls. The election was called minutes after polls closed, because on information gained from various polls and what voters said to pollsters, Trump was already calling for President Joe Biden to start debating him about the issues. It wasn’t about confidence on Trump’s part, as he knew that Nikki Haley didn’t have what it took to win even in her own state. It was past embarrassing for someone who had once served in Trump’s administration to be steamrolled so badly, a sign that perhaps Haley should throw in the towel. Haley says that she is in it for the long haul, hoping for a big showing during Super Tuesday when she might(don’t bet the house on it) secure enough delegates by the time convention time rolls around. Maybe Haley is taking a gamble that something catastrophic happens to Trump in court that might sideline him and cause him to focus on staying out of jail and not going back to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. That won’t happen because Trump knows that the only way he may avoid jail time, is to sit in the Oval Office or being on the golf course as president. The focus of the media has swung to who will be Trump’s pick to be his vice president. The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held its annual gathering to hear from the presumptive nominee and also those who are vying (some say to kiss the ring) to be the next person who will be a heartbeat away from becoming president should anything befall Trump. Those who spoke were Byron Donalds (FL), Kari Lake, SD Gov, Kristi Noem, ex-candidate Vivek Ramaswarmy, Elise Stefanik (NY), OH Sen. J.D. Vance. Trump hasn’t made a choice of who he will select, but one can tell that he is enjoying the attention focused on him from those potential want-to-be-his-most-loyal right-hand man/woman in history. They all showed that by bestowing lavish praise upon Mr. Trump, while neither one of them said why they felt that they were the better/best person to serve as vice president if chosen. Another notable thing about the veep sweepstakes is that two of the names mentioned talked about now are Donalds and Tim Scott, both of them Black. Would Trump do the “unthinkable” and nominate a Black man to be his running mate? Is the Republican Party ready for another Black man potentially as president should the “one heartbeat away” happen? We already had “Ebony and Ivory” with Obama and Biden, so what in the world would Trump/Scott or Trump/ Donalds be called? We will let the late night comedians handle that one. Even if Haley should somehow become the first female president, she will fall in light succumbing to the Trump fever. She has already said in an effort to win at all costs, that she would pardon Trump if he was convicted of any federal crimes. That could be seen as kissing the ring. Haley also knows that as she positioned herself “as an alternative” to Trump, she is aware that as president, everything done in a Haley administration would have to be done as if Trump was in the White House. The MAGA crowd would demand that, as House Speaker Mike Johnson continues to find himself between a rock and a hard place in Congress with Trump calling the shots. Right now, Trump is making the Pied Piper look bad, as he has an entire political party at his disposal, as they all await the “second coming”. Remember, the world is watching. So is God.