NOT THIS TIME
A top Trump strategist tells Fox News that Gov. Susana Martinez doesn’t have the right experience to be his boss’ vice presidential nominee.
Atop strategist for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump threw cold water on speculation that Gov. Susana Martinez could be Trump’s vice presidential pick during a segment Wednesday night on “The Kelly File” on Fox News.
Fox host Megyn Kelly invited Paul Manafort — a Trump adviser who will also serve as the presumptive nominee’s national convention manager — to discuss the campaign’s plans heading into the general election. Toward the end of the segment, Kelly asked about the Manhattan billionaire’s thoughts on choosing a running mate, and specifically about Martinez.
“Do you believe what people are saying, that it (the VP choice) has to be someone like Susana Martinez, a woman, a Latina?” Kelly asked.
Manafort replied, “He’s said he’s looking for someone who has Washington experience and someone who can help him in dealing with problems in foreign policy and defense policy. That is more important, in my judgment, and that is what he thinks, which is even more important.”
Martinez’s foreign policy experience is limited, at best, and she seems to avoid Washington like the plague. Trump’s troubles with female voters are well-documented but Manafort said the candidate’s success thus far in the campaign proves he doesn’t “need to change a thing.”
— Michael Coleman, mcoleman@abqjournal.com
“FLAMES OF IGNORANCE”: New Mexico Democrats took just one day to organize an official repudiation of Trump.
Calling him “scary” and “dangerous,” Democratic Party of New Mexico Chairwoman Debra Haaland, along with Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, and Reps. Gail Chasey, D-Albuquerque, and Javier Martinez, D-Albuquerque, vowed that New Mexico’s Democrats will help block Trump’s attempt to reach the White House.
“The world became a whole lot scarier,” Haaland told a news conference the Democrats called Thursday morning to blast Trump.
The Republican Party of New Mexico came out in full support of Trump after Indiana’s primary results Tuesday night. Haaland said Thursday the statement shows local Republicans support Trump’s racist, sexist and xenophobic views.
“So New Mexico also became a whole lot scarier,” she said.
Martinez said Trump has “fanned the flames of ignorance.”
— Maggie Shepard, mshepard@abqjournal.com
TRUMP BANDWAGON: Don Tripp, R-Socorro, speaker of the New Mexico House, told El Defensor Chieftain on Thursday that Trump has encouraged participation if nothing else.
“I’m now a Trump supporter,” Tripp said.
Tripp said he was concerned about how Trump’s nomination would affect state and local races in November, but feels Trump’s presence could boost Republican candidates’ chances.
“There is some concern about turnout,” Tripp said. “But he’s gotten so many people involved in the process who haven’t been involved before. It might energize things.”
— Scott Turner, sturner@dchieftain.com