Today we will find out who Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, has selected as her running mate. She has a strong roster to pick from so it is likely whoever she picks will be a positive addition to the ticket and will help maintain the momentum for the Harris campaign. As I said previously, any one of her finalists will be much more qualified than Trump’s pick of J.D. Vance, who is unpopular even within his own party.
It would still not surprise me to see Vance kicked to the curb. I can see Trump trying to make the argument that he chose Vance when he expected Biden to be the nominee but now that Biden has dropped out, the game has changed, and he is free to rethink that choice. In essence, he will be suggesting he deserves a ‘mulligan,’ which in golf parlance means a ‘do over.’ It has been widely reported that Trump is known to fudge in his golf game (that’s a tactful way of saying cheating) so he is very used to taking mulligans when it is to his advantage. There would certainly be political fallout from such a move but there is no doubt that the MAGA faithful would fall in line behind Trump and support such a decision based upon whatever flimsy rationale they were fed.
The golf analogy brings something else to mind. Does Trump ever play golf at a golf course he does not own? It might happen occasionally, but I am not aware of that happening in recent memory. It’s a little thing but one might ask the question – why? Most golfers I know will seek out and welcome opportunities to play challenging courses all over the world and around the country. Those same golfers will play those challenging, unfamiliar courses knowing full well they might not play as well as they do on their ‘home’ course where they usually play. Nonetheless, they will welcome the challenge. Trump, on the other hand, does not like to be outside of his comfort zone in an environment he does not control.
I am sure if you were to ask the Trump camp about this, they would simply say that because of security concerns, Trump can only play golf at his own clubs. That’s clearly nonsense. The Secret Service is portable and will operate to protect their charges virtually anywhere. I personally think it is a ‘security blanket’ and ‘comfort zone’ issue.
When you think about it, this might also explain Trump’s ‘American first’ philosophy. When Trump is outside of Mar a Lago, not at a staged rally of his adoring fans, or not at one of his own properties, he seems extremely uncomfortable. I think he is extremely uncomfortable on the world stage. He is a very insecure man and one just has to look at how he goes to great lengths to control his environment, whether it be on the golf course or his unwillingness to debate Harris anywhere other than Fox News, to understand that Trump, is really, at his core, a very weak man.
True leaders will surround themselves with people who will challenge them and tell them the truth. Weak people will surround themselves with sycophants and toadies or play golf only at courses they own and control. We don’t need a president who needs a security blanket. We need a president who is willing to step up to the tee on a challenging, unfamiliar course with the world watching and hit the ball and be willing to play it where it lies without blaming the course, the caddy, the weather, or sunspots. Trump is not that person.
Will he take a mulligan on Vance? We shall see.
