Elise Stefanik *really* wants to be Donald Trump's vice president

She will say, literally, anything.

(Donald Trump and Rep. Elise Stefanik)

With the Republican primary all but over, tryouts to be Donald Trump’s vice president have begun in earnest. And no one has taken to the relentless pursuit of the number two job with more aggression than New York Rep. Elise Stefanik.

Let’s go through a few of Stefanik’s greatest hits from just the past few days, shall we?

• Stefanik said that Trump accidentally saying Nikki Haley’s name when he meant Nancy Pelosi — in relation to January 6 — wasn’t a mistake at all. “That isn’t a mix-up, the reality is Nikki Haley is relying on Democrats just like Nancy Pelosi to try to have a desperate showing in New York and New Hampshire,” said Stefanik.

• Asked whether she believed E. Jean Carroll, who a jury found had been sexually assaulted by Donald Trump, Stefanik responded: “No, of course not… The media is so biased. This is just another example of the media being out of touch.” (The media had zero to do with the verdict.)

• In response to the news that the trial over whether Trump defamed Carroll would be postponed Monday and would resume Tuesday, Stefanik took to Twitter X to say this: “This is blatant election interference! Joe Biden and his Democrat cronies are the true threats to democracy! TRUMP 2024!” But, as CNN legal correspondent Paula Reid rightly noted: “The judge gave lawyers the option to continue with just eight jurors, after one went home sick, but Trump lawyer said she wanted an adjournment for the day. The Trump team had a choice and chose not to proceed today.”

Taken together, the three episodes detail exactly how Stefanik has risen to the top (or close to it) of Trump’s vice presidential list. She is doing exactly what Trump wants — never admit a mistake, spin (ridiculously at times) and argue, relentlessly, that the former president is just so, so great.

She’s also — using a Trump blueprint — totally remade herself as a MAGA Republican. When Stefanik was first elected to her Upstate New York House seat in 2014, she was widely seen as a moderate. She was a member of the Tuesday Group, a group of centrist Republicans. She touted her record as someone willing to work across the aisle. She suggested Trump should release his tax returns and said that he would not be the nominee of the Republican party.

Then, Stefanik’s ambition took over. She realized — earlier than most Republican elected officials — that Trump had conducted a hostile takeover of the party and wasn’t going anywhere.

She emerged, nationally, with her vocal defense of Trump during his impeachment hearings in the House. She rode the Trump train to the number four leadership post among House Republicans — a rapid rise through the ranks.

And, of late, Stefanik has become even more famous. She was the point person in questioning a trio of heads of elite universities — specifically on whether they thought that calling for the genocide of Jews violated the schools’ codes of conduct.

Their answers led to a furor. And two of the three have subsequently resigned their offices — which Stefanik celebrated.

Trump, who loves a good performance, noticed.

“Elise became very famous,” Trump said of Stefanik’s performance with the college presidents. “Wasn’t it beautiful?”

Trump has also described Stefanik as a “killer” (he meant in a good way), according to NBC News.

Trump has said, publicly, that he has already made up his mind about his VP pick. “I know who it’s going to be,” Trump said at a Fox News town hall earlier this month. Pressed on the identity of the pick, he added: “I can't tell you that really.”

At another Fox event over the weekend in New Hampshire, Trump added this:

“I may or may not really [decide] something over the next couple of months. There’s no rush to that. It won’t have any impact at all. The person that I think I like is a very good person, a pretty standard. I think people won’t be that surprised, but I would say there’s probably a 25 percent chance that would be that person.”

Which, well:

Here’s the deal: Trying to divine what’s in Trump’s mind is, um, not easy. He could well have already made his mind up on VP. Or he hasn’t. Or he decided and then is choosing to reconsider. Or he will change his mind at the last minute.

Like, he is DEEPLY unpredictable. On this decision and every decision.

That said, I think Stefanik is currently in the pole position to be the pick. (I am working on my veepstakes rankings list right now; I hope to have it out later this week after the New Hampshire primary. STAY TUNED!)

Stefanik quite clearly wants the job. “I’ve said for a year now I’d be honored to serve in the next Trump administration,” she said on NBC recently.

And, as her recent comments during her two days of campaigning for Trump in New Hampshire show, she is willing to say and do whatever she needs to in order to get the gig. Which is exactly what Trump wants.