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But barring some wild event that ejects President Biden or former president Donald Trump from their respective primary contests, the general election is here, and it’s worth considering who will be the new Mike Pence. So I asked my Post Opinions colleagues Kathleen Parker and Jim Geraghty: How could Trump’s VP pick help him in November?

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Alexi McCammond: Do you guys think Donald Trump could pick *anyone* that would help broaden his appeal beyond the MAGA base, similar to how Mike Pence helped him consolidate the Republican Party in 2016?

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Kathleen Parker: I think he’ll go with someone of color, and it might be Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), based on the senator’s sudden interest in marriage. Talk about a shotgun wedding! LOL. Nikki Haley would have been his best pick — color and female — but don’t think that’s gonna happen.

Jim Geraghty: Scott also would offer a temperamentally different president and/or guy a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Alexi: Also: Scott is not someone who would overshadow Trump, and remaining the main character is, of course, Trump’s chief concern.

Kathleen: Scott is a Black Pence, but his appeal among independents is limited. His frequent scriptural references, though they play well in the South, are somewhat off-putting in the secular world in which we live.

Alexi: He does love to lean in to a pastor vibe, and you’re right that that’s not what most people want (Trump included tbh). Separately, I’ll never get over J.D. Vance’s evolution from celebrated author of the book “Hillbilly Elegy” to MAGA fanboy.

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Kathleen: I’m with you there. One of those personas isn’t real.

Alexi: What type of person should Trump pick to balance the ticket and reassure voters who are skeptical about giving him a second term?

Jim: To broaden his appeal, Trump needs the most un-Trumpy option available, which is the kind of decision Trump is extremely unlikely to prefer. But Trump would need someone stable, reassuring, safe, predictable, interested in the details of policy and preferably a generation younger.

“Less erratic than Trump” is a really low bar to clear.

Kathleen: Trump needs (requires) only loyalty. He doesn’t give a rip about any of the usual VP norms.

Jim: Almost any Republican senator would do; I know my fellow Post columnist Hugh Hewitt is touting Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa. Don’t forget: Last year, Trump said he likes “the concept” of a female running mate.

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Alexi: TOM COTTON 👀 Send in the troops, boys! Wouldn’t a woman be his smartest choice? Especially in post-Roe v. Wade era and going up against a ticket with a female VP.

Kathleen: Ernst would be a reliable pick: a loyal, female Midwesterner. And, if you’ll recall her campaign pitch from a few years ago, she doesn’t mind neutering an opponent if necessary. She could get away with seeming to rein in Trump’s........

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