There have been numerous reports over the last year or so that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake both have ambitions to land on former President Donald Trump’s 2024 ticket as vice president.
But a Rolling Stone article Tuesday uncovered that the two are bitterly feuding, with Greene and Lake frequently trashing one another behind the scenes.
The story also made clear that while Trump has certainly considered the possibility, both Greene and Lake are long shots to actually end up as Trump’s running mate.
Vicious Battle for Trump’s Veep
Sources close to Trump described a “death race” between Greene and Lake, in which “the two view one another with intense distrust and disdain, each seeing the other as direct competition for Trump’s political affections.”
Greene is a backbench member of Congress who is best known for outrageous statements, while Lake is a TV personality who has never been elected to anything and lost her only big race so far. Neither has the profile of a typical presidential running mate, although Trump has never been known to do things in the typical way.
The story added that Lake and Greene are in the same “lane,” among potential Trump VP candidates: “the lane of election-denying, shameless Trump diehard who has emerged as a conspiracy-theory-slinging star among the conservative base,” the Rolling Stone article stated.
Greene has introduced multiple resolutions to impeach President Joe Biden and was also the sponsor of a bill that would “expunge” Trump’s impeachments. Lake, for her part, has emulated Trump by continuing to deny that she lost her election for governor in 2022.
Greene has also been “garrulously trash-talking” Lake behind the scenes to others in the MAGA orbit, including describing Lake as not “serious.”
Behind the Scenes in Politics
“MTG thinks she’s a scammer and not even a conservative,” a source told Rolling Stone, adding that Greene has argued that “Lake is a grifter and [is] trying to keep riding Trump’s coattails because she lost [in Arizona], so she’s cozying up on the election-integrity messaging.”
Tensions were described as “visible” when both women appeared at Mar-a-Lago following Trump’s first indictment earlier this year, and “Greene’s demeanor turned icy” after “Kari won” chants were heard from the crowd.
And while Trump has bandied about both women’s names among his potential VP picks, the Rolling Stone story says both of their chances of actually landing on the ticket are “vanishingly low,” with Trump being advised that both Lake and Greene “would bring nothing of value to a ticket.”
Trump has, however, suggested that he might want to name Greene to some position in a second Trump Administration, possibly as a cabinet secretary or White House adviser. He has even, per the report, suggested putting Greene in the Justice Department, although one Trump source said of the Congresswoman, “I don’t think she’s a lawyer.” (Indeed, Greene does not hold a law degree.)
While Greene has talked more openly than Lake about her interest in being vice president, Lake was included last March on an Axios list of potential Trump vice presidents, along with Nikki Haley, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem; Greene was not included.
Trump would be unlikely to name a running mate prior to next summer, and Lake has reportedly been considering running for the Senate in Arizona, which would presumably take her out of the running for Trump’s ticket.
Greene, this week, made news for declaring that the 70,000 people who were trapped at the Burning Man cultural festival in Nevada were “probably being brainwashed that climate change is the cause of all of it, is the root of all evil, and is going to destroy the Earth.” The comments came in an appearance on Alex Jones’ Infowars.
Author Expertise and Experience
Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Stephen has authored thousands of articles over the years that focus on politics, technology, and the economy for over a decade. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
