Florida GOP Rep. Byron Donalds doesn’t have the name recognition of Sen. Tim Scott, his South Carolina Republican colleague in the Senate, or former HUD Secretary Ben Carson. Yet Donalds, a 45-year-old rising star in the conservative constellation, is reportedly on Donald Trump’s list of possible vice presidential running mates.
What are his qualifications? First, as far as Trump is concerned, Donalds is a blind loyalist who will say anything to defend him in the face of 88 charges over four criminal cases.
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Second, he’s Black, and Trump hopes to snatch as many Black voters as he can from President Biden in the 2024 election. In fact, Donalds is beefing with Joy Reid after she recently commented that the GOP is using him as a prop.
He’s “the one Black guy that Republicans love to roll out as fake proof that Black people, the Blacks, are just MAGA, they’re MAGA — it’s a joke,” Newsweek quoted “The ReidOut” host’s remarks on Friday about Donalds’ attendance at Trump’s political rally in the Bronx.
Donalds responded on Fox News that Reid’s comments were “nothing more than crabs in a barrel,” meaning that she is jealous of his success and wants to block his progress.
According to The New York Times, Trump has spoken with advisers about selecting Donalds as a potential running mate. Donalds has already said that he would accept the nomination if offered.
Donalds, whose mother was a public school teacher, grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from Florida State University with an undergraduate degree in finance and marketing. In college, Donalds met his future wife, Erika, who drew him into evangelical Christianity.
Since then, the Christian conservative couple has waged war against what they view as dangerous liberal ideas and lifestyle seeping into public school classrooms. As a Florida state House lawmaker, he supported reforms that would give far-right groups leverage to change school curricula and ban books from school libraries. The bans have targeted books on race, racism, LGBTQ+ and transgender identities.
After joining Congress in 2021, Donalds wasted no time reinventing himself as a Trump loyalist.
According to CNN, Donalds attacked Trump for his birtherism lies that President Barack Obama was born in Kenya. Donalds also posted numerous social media comments in 2011 and 2012 criticizing Trump, including expressing relief that “Trump won’t run” for president against Obama.
Yet, one of his first votes in Congress was against certifying electors for Arizona and Pennsylvania so that Republicans could attempt to block Biden’s 2020 presidential victory, falsely claiming that Dems stole the election.
Donalds is now a full-blown conspiracist in Trump’s camp. He was among the GOP lawmakers who pushed false theories about an FBI plot against Trump. Here’s a video clip of his interview with CNN’s Abby Phillips.
He also signaled to Phillips that he wouldn’t accept the 2024 election results if Trump loses again. Donalds refused to give her a yes or no answer, saying that he would only accept the results under certain conditions.
It’s plain to see that Donalds is making every effort to win the Trump Veep sweepstakes — even if he has to embarrass himself.
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