Should sentencing reform advocates have a rooting interesting in Donald Trump’s running mate selection?
Almost exactly eight years ago today, I posted here under the title “Scouting Mike Pence on criminal justice: likely Trump VP pick with notably mixed reform record.” Sixth month later, after Mike Pence became Vice President, I had this post asking “Is VP Pence going to be a key player for possible federal sentencing reform?”. These posts serve as a kind of backstory reminder that a presidential candidate’s pick of a running mate might be, or might not be, a matter of interest and concern for advocates of criminal justice reforms.
Of course, I bring this up because it seem we may be only days away from Donald Trump picking a new running mate. This new NBC News piece, headlined “Trump teases his VP pick timing and names 4 finalists,” provides this account of timelines and possibilities:
Former President Donald Trump on Friday said that he’d like to announce his vice presidential running mate next week, potentially during the Republican National Convention, and named four key allies as potential picks.
“I’d love to do it during the convention, which would be you know, or just slightly before the convention, like Monday, love to do it on Tuesday or Wednesday, actually, but for a lot of complex reasons that you people understand, pretty much don’t do that,” Trump told “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show.”
Trump has been in no rush to reveal his running mate, more than happy to cede the spotlight to the Democratic Party, which is embroiled in the fallout of President Joe Biden’s rough debate performance. The former president has a rally scheduled for Saturday evening in western Pennsylvania.
Trump indicated, as NBC News has reported previously, that his VP short list includes GOP Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and JD Vance of Ohio and North Dakota GOP Gov. Doug Burgum. He also named Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., as having been “fierce and great” during a recent television appearance. “We have a very good bench,” the former president said.
He also shed light on the vetting process, calling it a “highly sophisticated version of ‘The Apprentice,'” referring to the popular reality TV show Trump hosted in the 2000s. Still, Trump described his decision-making process as, “ultimately … more of an instinct.”
I know Senator Scott has been an advocte for some policing reforms, and that both Senators Scott and Rubio voted for the First Step Act and other federal reforms that have garnered bipartisan approval. In addition, I believe Governor Burgham, who gets much love from me thanks to his first name, signed into law a number of modest criminal justice reforms for North Dakota. And Senator Vance has asserted that “We live in a third world country with a two-tiered justice system.”
Though I have seen many political pundits assert that VP picks do not really move the needle as to election outcomes, I am still inclined to believe that a VP can prove meaningful and perhaps even consequential on some policy matters (especially when the president may be inclined to take various paths on a particular policy issue). So, to repeat the question in the title of this post:
Should sentencing reform advocates have a rooting interesting in Donald Trump’s running mate selection?