The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Donald Trump was in search of an “attack dog” as his running mate. As far as job descriptions go, that’s akin to an accounting firm recruiting people who are “good with numbers”—it’s obvious, and it’s a prerequisite of the job. What’s newsy is the purpose for which Trump wants such a political pit bull: “to help him parry criticism on the campaign trail,” the Journal writes.

A running mate is typically an aggressor on the stump and the tube, blaring the virtues of the presidential nominee and censuring the opponent on cable news. But rarely in the TV age of politics—if at any time, at all—has it been so necessary for a vice-presidential choice to defend the top of the ticket as it will be with Trump.