The Veepstakes Goes on Display

A few potential vice presidential candidates from both major political parties made the Sunday morning talk show rounds in their latest attempts to strut their positives and woo their chosen candidate.

Appearing on different networks, the four potential running mates sparred over the week in news, with the Republicans continuing to carry the nationalist momentum of Brexit into the U.S. 2016 contest and the Democrats looking to shut-down that same damning narrative.

“There’s no reason to believe that Hillary Clinton’s experiences qualify her for anything except retirement.”

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich made an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” with host Chris Wallace, during which he pushed the parallel between the UK’s historic vote to exit the EU and the surge of patriotic momentum between Donald Trump’s campaign. Gingrich also demonstrated his capacity to play the attack dog, paining Hillary Clinton as on the wrong side of history.

“She was wrong on Brexit; she wanted the ‘remain’ vote to win … What has she been right about? Do we need more of this kind of experience?” Gingrich posed to Wallace. “There’s no reason to believe that Hillary Clinton’s experiences qualify her for anything except retirement.”

Gingrich, who has been rumored to be a top VP pick for Trump, has particularly worked hard to demonstrate his appeal as a running mate in recent weeks, making over half a dozen media appearances backing up Trump’s policies and hammering Clinton.

If chosen as Trump’s VP, Gingrich would bring the policy heft that some have criticized Trump as lacking in his political platforms, as well as an ability to skillfully hammer Clinton. But Gingrich also comes with his own drawbacks including the former speaker’s love for the limelight, that may conflict with Trump’s own. Gingrich will also no doubt try to push priorities that may not always align with Trump’s keynote issues.

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Another potential Trump VP pick joined the fray Sunday morning with an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, would help bridge the gap between Trump and many members of the GOP Establishment who have been reluctant to endorse him.

Although Corker supported the Trans-Pacific Partnership and immigration reform measures that are inconsistent with Trump’s platform, the senator embraced Trump’s populist appeal Sunday. Corker focused on drawing parallels between Brexit and the choice for Americans in the 2016 U.S. presidential election during his appearance on “State of the Union.”

“Almost the entire Establishment in the UK was in the ‘remain’ camp. Look, there’s something in our society, it’s happening in Western societies, where there’s tremendous anxiety over economic stagnation, the whole issue of refugees and immigration that’s changing the context of countries and then this faceless bureaucracy that’s not really responding to people,” Corker said.

“So the genius of what’s happened with the candidacy of Donald Trump is he has given voice to that, just as was given in the UK recently. The question is: Can we take this moment and shape it into something that’s great for the American people?” Corker, who has denied being vetted as a potential Trump pick, continued.

Potential Democratic VP candidates also made their appearances during the Sunday morning talk show rounds. Probable frontrunner for Clinton’s nod, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, was the former governor of a purple state that could offer more of a moderate approach to Clinton’s platform in a broader appeal to independent voters. This moderacy could pose a possible problem, however, in appealing to younger voters and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ more extreme followers.

Kaine used his airtime to curry favor with Clinton, take some swipes at Trump, and push back on the Brexit narrative.

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“This is a guy who will always put himself first. So of course he’s going to interpret [Brexit] about, ‘Here’s why I’ve done well,'” Kaine said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We’ve got to have a commander-in-chief who knows what she’s doing. And that’s the most important issue that’s on the table for us right now, just like England’s going to grapple with this important question of Brexit, we have to grapple with the style of leadership we want going.”

Likewise, potential contender Thomas Perez, the labor secretary, expressed his support for Clinton by bashing Trump as a “chaos candidate” during an appearance on ABC News’ “This Week.” Although Perez, who is known as a firebrand liberal, would most likely be a welcome VP pick among the socialist-intrigued Sanders supporters, his more leftist tinge and lack of foreign policy experience may not serve Clinton well amongst more moderate voters.

“The differences between Secretary Clinton and Donald Trump in terms of temperament, in terms of judgment, in terms of values, couldn’t be more stark,” Perez said. “Hillary Clinton understands that there’s angst here in the country. We made a lot of progress under [Obama]. But we have got a lot of work to do. And her vision of America is a vision of ‘we.’ We’re stronger together. Donald Trump is all about ‘me.’ And that’s the fundamental difference between the candidates.”