Put aside all the funny memes of Sen. Josh Hawley running. Could it be that the soon-to-be senior senator from Missouri is vying to be Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate? The current list of potential vice presidential picks swirling around does not seem to include Hawley, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Hawley isn’t working to make it on the shortlist. It is no secret that Hawley has higher aspirations for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Perhaps he thinks getting in through the back door of the West Wing is easier than the front.
Hawley began some cryptic messaging shortly after it was projected that Democratic incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada beat her Republican challenger, Adam Laxalt in the midterm elections, and it was clear that Democrats were going to maintain control of the U.S. Senate. Hawley tweeted “The old party is dead. Time to bury it. Build something new.”
Hawley’s press office declined my request for an interview or statement about what, exactly, Hawley meant by that tweet. Since I never got any answers, I will speculate widely.
The day before Hawley made his GOP obituary tweet, Phillip Wegman from RealClearPolitics reported that Hawley said he hopes the midterm losses “mean that Republicans in leadership will learn their lesson on this, and they will oppose the Biden agenda more effectively.” To do that, Hawley continued, they need “to actually offer an alternative.” Hawley told Wegman that a better platform for working families would have been to run on tougher tariffs on China, reshoring American jobs, opening up American energy, and putting 100,000 new cops on the streets. Hawley also criticized “Washington Republicanism” for not telling the electorate that they were going to secure the border. I am not so sure that is the lesson Republicans should be learning from their midterm losses but at least it is a message.
Since Nov. 12, Hawley has been dropping vague statements and tweets. But there was one message that was crystal clear — he would not be supporting Sen. Mitch McConnell to continue as minority leader. “We need new leadership and real convictions.” Hawley’s comments sounded very familiar.
It is no secret that McConnell and Trump have no love for each other. In October, Trump used a racial slur calling McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, and his own Transportation secretary “China-loving … Coco Chow.” Trump posted on his Truth Social that McConnell “has a DEATH WISH.” Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich said it was “absurd” to interpret the post as a threat or call for violence, suggesting the reference to a death wish was “political” rather than literal. “Mitch McConnell is killing the Republican Party through weakness and cowardice.” Budowich’s written statement went on to say, “He (McConnell) obviously has a political death wish for himself and the Republican Party, but President Trump and the America First champions in Congress will save the Republican Party and our nation.”
Hawley did mention the former president a few weeks ago when he told reporters on Capitol Hill, “I like a lot of what President Trump did as president. I think we have a lot to talk about there. But we need to have a conversation about the core convictions of the party. And clearly this party is going to have to be different or we are not going to be a majority party in this country.” Is this an attempt to bridge Trump with what Hawley considers a winning strategy?
The Hawley-to-Trump virtue signaling began long before the midterms. Hawley was the only Senate “no” vote allowing Finland and Sweden into NATO and argues against “blank checks to Ukraine” as the country defends itself against Russia occupation. Hawley was also out stumping for Trump-backed Senate candidates, such as J.D Vance, who won in Ohio, and Blake Masters, who lost in Arizona. He apparently also supported Herschel Walker’s run against Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock in Georgia.
And who could forget the raised fist of loyalty to Trump’s supporters in front of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021?
None of this is to suggest that Hawley brings any electoral advantages to Trump if he were to choose Hawley as his running mate. What Hawley does bring to the table is his undying loyalty to Trump and being a fierce culture warrior.
Perhaps the biggest tell that Hawley is strategizing for the national stage is the fact that the only word missing from Hawley’s comments is “Missouri,” the state he was elected to represent. If this is Hawley’s long game, I give him credit. This is an easier way to get close to the West Wing than earning it yourself.
____
