(IntegrityTimes.com) – Republican Florida Representative Byron Donalds is rumored to be on former President Donald Trump’s shortlist of vice presidential candidates, according to reports. After securing a seat at Congress in 2020, Donalds rapidly rose up the Republican Party’s ranks. As President Joe Biden faces declining support among black voters, who are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the Democratic Party and turning to Trump, according to polls. The African-American congressman is keen to stress Trump’s appeal to black communities.
Donalds claimed that demographic groups, such as ethnic minorities that have historically been key voter bases for the Democrats, are shifting in their political views. The Republican argued that the US is at a point of needing to put “common sense” before “political ideology”, and that this is what resonates with voters in the 2024 election. Drawing from his experience in the House, Donalds stressed the benefits of someone who can ensure the “wheels of Congress” are moving to get things done for the president.
Trump is set to announce his choice of running mate at the Republican National Convention in July. Donalds is reportedly among candidates who have received vetting documents from the Trump Campaign. Vice President Kamala Harris has recently blasted Donalds for allegedly whitewashing African-American history in Florida. The congressman prompted criticism when he claimed that black communities were “together” during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation, and Harris accused Donalds of “rewriting” the history of black people in the state.
Though Donalds is firmly in the right-wing flank of the GOP and is considered a Trump loyalist, he has criticized the former president in the past. In 2011 he expressed relief at Trump’s decision to not run against then-President Barack Obama. Donalds criticized Trump’s protectionist position on trade as well as his controversial comments about Obama’s place of birth and citizenship status.
In 2023 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who commentators have also suggested as a potential choice of vice president, accused of siding with Harris over conservatives regarding the state’s new requirement in its history curriculum. Donalds said it was wrong to teach school children that slaves later benefitted from skills they learned. DeSantis declared that the congressman had to choose between either siding with the Republicans and the state’s decision or siding with “liberals”.
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