Sen. Eric Schmitt’s (R-MO) unsubtle bid for the 2028 vice presidency lasted less than six hours. It lived at the hands of a press even more idiotic than our politicians, and it died by suicide through hubris.
Around 6 a.m., Axios published a puff piece declaring that the senator, who has just three years in the chamber under his belt, is “drawing buzz” as a possible running mate to Vice President JD Vance, the man broadly considered President Donald Trump’s most likely successor. The piece, which describes Schmitt as “trustworthy, intelligent, articulate and a deft political operator,” was notably written not by some autumn intern, but by Axios CEO Jim VandeHei.
Stay informed.Stay ahead.
Join Washington Examiner for unlimited access to the news, analysis, and commentary that matter most.
Already a member? Log in
Before noon, Schmitt’s shadow campaign blew up during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with former special counsel Jack Smith. While relitigating the Biden administration’s weaponization of the Justice Department against Trump won’t improve affordability or wrap up the war with Iran, cleaning house at the Department of Justice is worthwhile on the merits, and there are real misdeeds by Smith to unmask, namely, his warrantless spying on the communications of dozens of Republican lawmakers.
But Schmitt decided to pursue a different theory.
For months now, Republican Judiciary Committee members have argued that the Biden White House was communicating and collaborating with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who was prosecuting the state-level case against Trump. But Schmitt promised that he would prove communications between Willis and Smith himself.
So Schmitt decided to confront Smith with receipts, insisting that Smith had gone to Atlanta for a Warriors-Hawks game in February 2024, the day after Willis’s illicit affair with Nathan Wade was exposed.
“I don’t think you know that we have this stuff, so I’ll give you a second to process it so you don’t perjure yourself,” said a smug Schmitt, giving the game away a minute too soon.
The exchange between Schmitt and Smith is worth watching in its entirety, especially when Schmitt discovers that Smith wasn’t in Atlanta to watch a Hawks game, but in Maryland to watch Caitlin Clark play in an Iowa Hawkeyes game.
Of course, the Atlanta Hawks are not the Iowa Hawkeyes, and Georgia is not Maryland. If Schmitt intended to engage in an authentic fact-finding mission, Smith could have answered a question instead of eviscerating a campaign stunt. But that’s all televised committee hearings really are these days, premeditated gimmicks to prepare for the next election (i.e., promotion opportunity).
TIANA LOWE DOESCHER: FAILING PUBLIC SCHOOLS NEED HIGHER STANDARDS, NOT MORE MONEY
The worst part of all of this — the final faux pas that eliminates any shred of plausible deniability for Schmitt — is that his influencer Rolodex fired off pre-drafted tweets celebrating his line of questioning. In a since-deleted tweet, Benny Johnson posted that “Schmidt Just CAUGHT Jack Smith perjuring himself on the stand” with “the receipts.”
For what it’s worth, I have it on good authority that Vance’s team is not happy with Schmitt’s shadowjockeying to become his running mate. I doubt eating crow in front of someone as unserious as Smith helped his standing with the vice president.
