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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know Donald Trump is the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee. Ted Cruz dropped out of the race and John Kasich followed suit shortly thereafter. The road to the nomination was rocky for the Republican Party. Trump does not conform to the GOP’s platform nor pander to the establishment to earn its $upport. As demonstrated by clenching the nomination despite the ire of many Republicans, Trump didn’t aim to appease the party’s establishment, which makes his campaign all the more fascinating.
Trump energizes people while alienating others. People hate him. People love him. All of these people are interested in his “next move.” People want to know who his vice presidential running mate will be.
Now that Donald Trump has clenched the GOP nomination, he will likely work to gain support from those who supported his GOP opponents. If he plays his cards right, his choice of running mate could help “win over” people who have been vehemently opposing him. It could make or break the next phase of his campaign—running directly against the Democratic Party’s nominee.
Though he may come across as needing no help, Donald Trump might want to consider a GOP VP nominee who balances him out, who helps neutralize some “negatives.” Congresswoman Mia Love could be the person for the job. Here are seven ways Mia Love would help balance Trump’s GOP ticket.
1. Elitism
From birth, Trump was afforded more opportunities than the average person. His father was a successful real estate developer. Because he has always been part of “the 1%,” people love to hate him—calling him “elitist.” How could Mia Love as Trump’s running mate balance the scales in that regard? The odds were stacked against Love’s immigrant family: “She is the youngest of three children and the daughter of Haitian immigrants, who’d come to America about a year before Mia’s birth with just $10 between them and knowing no English. Raised without much money, Mia has said her life and, later, her politics were shaped by her humble childhood.” The fact that Love was not born into economic riches would help balance the GOP ticket in light of Trump’s alleged elitism.
2. Sexism
Trump has been labeled as a misogynist. He justifies his controversial statements via nonchalance or opposition to political correctness. Can he overcome the labels of “sexist,” “misogynist,” and “chauvinist”? Based on media coverage of him, I don’t know if that’s entirely possible, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a female running mate. Choosing a female running mate would help Trump squash the notion that he only views women as trophies, as he’d be betting on her leadership abilities. In case you didn’t already figure this out, Mia Love fits the bill. She is a woman who has held several positions of leadership.
3. Racism
Trump is accused of being racist. Is he racist? I don’t know, but people are apt to assert that he is. Could his choice of VP running mate help present himself as otherwise? Perhaps if said person is not Caucasian… like Mia Love. She is black; she is Haitian-American.
4. Anti-Immigration
Trump has famously (infamously?) stated that not only will he build a wall between America and Mexico but he also will make Mexico pay for the wall. With that kind of visual, it is no wonder people accuse him of being “anti-immigrant” whether or not the accusation holds any truth. When charged as being anti-immigrant, Trump asserts national security is his motivation rather than opposition to immigration in general. How better to bolster Trump’s aforementioned national security-immigration argument than by running alongside a person whose family immigrated to the United States of America? As explained earlier in this article, Mia Love’s parents emigrated from Haiti to America. She has even been called an “anchor baby.” (Gasp!) Trump and his GOP ticket would appear much more pro-immigration if his running mate happened to be a second generation immigrant like Mia Love.
5. Ageism
Is “age ain’t nothing but a number” applicable to political races? When running for President in 2008, John McCain’s age (71 or 72) was a topic of concern (http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/15/mccain.age/index.html?iref=newssearc). Trump is a few years younger now than McCain was in 2008 but not by much. Trump is 69. Trump is clearly not too “old” to run for President (as he does so alongside 74 year old Sanders and 68 year old Clinton), but could the age of Trump’s running mate give the GOP ticket more youthful appeal? Maybe. If so, Mia Love helps in that regard. She is quite a bit younger than Trump—nearly three decades younger. She is 40.
6. Conservative Consistency
Trump is accused of not being a “true conservative,” of being “a liberal in disguise.” While some people consider Trump’s evolution from liberal to conservative as being purely political and self-seeking, he attributes his political conversion to the development and maturation of his beliefs over time. Many people refuse to accept such inconsistency. Could a vice presidential running mate with more conservative consistency balance Trump’s ticket from the perspective of the GOP? Probably. Mia Love’s platform has been consistent. It’s extremely difficult for anyone to argue Mia Love is not a “true conservative.” The American Conservative Union gives her a 96% conservative rating, because she has consistently supported, defended, and promoted conservative values. She was even invited by the establishment to speak at the 2012 Republican National Convention. The addition of Mia Love to the GOP ticket could supplement Trump’s lack of appeal among the conservative establishment.
7. Experience in Public Office
Trump has never been elected to any political office, nor has he run for one until now. While not being a career politician does appeal to many people, others do not have the same views when it comes to electing the Commander in Chief. Trump is accused of not having enough political experience to be qualified to run for the President of the United States of America. Choosing a running mate who has served in public office may help balance Trump’s GOP ticket in that regard. Mia Love does have the experience in public office that Trump lacks. While still in her 20s, she was elected to the Saratoga Springs City Council in 2003, making her the first Haitian-American elected to office in Utah County. She served in this capacity until she was elected the mayor of Saratoga Springs, serving from 2010 to 2014. In 2014 she became the first black Republican woman to be elected to Congress. Mia Love’s political experience could help Trump overcome the accusation of being unqualified to hold public office.
If Mia Love ran alongside Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential race, the GOP ticket would be more balanced in terms of roots, sex, race, age, consistency, and political experience. This is not to say that Trump’s chances of winning the election over Clinton or Sanders would increase if Congresswoman Mia Love ran alongside him. This is not to say Mia Love would even agree to run as Trump’s VP. This is not to say Trump would consider her for the position in the first place. This is just to say, what if?