When Lara Trump and her husband Eric put their two young children to bed each night, they have a ritual. After saying their prayers, the family recite the American pledge of allegiance.
Her insight into the home life of the Trump family brought a big cheer from the floor of an annual conservative conference in Washington that has been dominated in recent years by her father-in-law.
With Trump’s endorsement, she is set to be elected as the co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, the professional body that runs the party and spends its money.
Her speech at Cpac — the conservative political action conference — was enough to prompt speculation that she could be elevated from the committee to the presidential ticket as Donald Trump’s running-mate in November’s presidential election.
“I think that Lara Trump is a very credible candidate,” said Edward Young, a Cpac first-timer from New Jersey and devoted Trump fan. “I don’t think many people have thought about her but Trump would be able to trust her to do the job.
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“I also like Vivek Ramaswamy, and Byron Donalds. His speech was really great. I think Donalds would be a great pick.”
Lara Trump, a 41-year-old television host, appearing on the ticket would indicate that Trump’s takeover of the Republicans is complete, but with the former president aged 77 and limited to just one term, other leading Republicans are falling over themselves to show that they have what it takes to be Trump’s running-mate and eventual successor.
Donalds, a 45 year-old congressman from Florida, has barely been mentioned as a potential running-mate for Trump to date.
However, he was given the honour of making the opening speech at this year’s conference, and certainly did nothing to damage his chances in a 20-minute address that could accurately be described as a pledge of allegiance to the former president.
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“We gotta have leadership that’s gonna say tough things when we need to hear them, and we have that leadership this November in Donald J Trump,” he said.
Cpac once attracted a broad church of Republican views but in recent years it has become a test of who can display the most loyalty to Trump.
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Ben Carson, a softly spoken doctor who served as Trump’s housing secretary, is much less energetic than the former president, but is very loyal. Speaking of the four criminal cases facing Trump this year, he said that “Trump’s only crime is representing American people. For that they want to put him in prison for the rest of his life.”
Carson is one of the few genuine vice-presidential contenders at Cpac this year. Ramaswamy, a 38 year-old businessman will address a dinner that was off-limits to most attendees, while other hopefuls like the Arkansas governor Sarah Huckerbee Sanders and Tim Scott, the South Carolina senator, have stayed away.
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Kristi Noem, the South Dakota governor, will address the meeting on Friday, as will Elise Stefanik, the New York congresswoman. Both are expected to make pitches for the vice-presidency.
Trump told Fox News this week that his shortlist of candidates included the former Republican presidential candidates, Scott and Ramaswamy, as well as Donalds, Noem and Tulsi Gabbard, the former Hawaii representative who served in Congress as a Democrat but has since shifted to more conservative views.
He also said that Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor whom the former president derided as “Ron DeSanctimonious” during the presidential primary campaign, was also being considered.
“I’d like to see the two of them kiss and make up,” said Scott Perry, a Republican congressman from Pennsylvania. “I think they’d be the A team.”
