Former President Donald Trump recently suggested that he does not see much potential for a running mate among the current crop of Republican candidates contending for the 2024 nomination via Conservative Brief.
They’ll do anything: secretary of something, they even say VP. Has anyone seen a VP in that group? I don’t think so,” Trump recently said during a rally in Michigan.
It has been noted that Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, told The Washington Post in an email that Trump “was very clear in his remarks” but did not directly address whether the former president is excluding all seven candidates from the debate.
However, according to The Hill, one name might be high on his “VP list” — South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem. Noem was accused of an affair with Corey Lewanowski, which they’ve denied.
During a recent interview, Trump said of Noem: “I think she’s fantastic. She’s been a great governor. She gave me a very full-throated endorsement, a beautiful endorsement. It’s been a very good state for me, and certainly, she would be one of the people I would consider for something else, maybe. We have a lot of great people in the Republican Party.”
Trump teased that he liked “the concept” of selecting a woman as his running mate, but that he’s also looking for “the right person.”
“You always do a little bit, but I don’t think it’s time,” Trump said. “I want to win, and, you know, it’s very interesting about running mates, when you get down to a vice president, they said, ‘Nobody has ever made that kind of a difference.’ It’s still about the person that’s going to be president.”
During an interview in September, Noem made it clear she would be interested in the job.
“Oh, absolutely,” Noem said on Newsmax in September when asked whether she would consider a slot on the ticket with Trump. “I would in a heartbeat.”
“As governor of a deep red state, she has enacted significant abortion restrictions and banned transgender women from participating on school sports teams consistent with their gender identity. She passes the loyalty test, which is key for Trump: She’s already endorsed him in the 2024 race. The 52-year-old’s gender and relative youth would also bring balance to the ticket alongside 77-year-old Trump,” The Hill reported.
A recent report from Roll Call speculated that Trump’s “VP list” is likely down to these five Republicans, with Noem’s name likely being near the top:
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem
Arizona Republican Kari Lake
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley
New York Rep. Elise Stefanik
A new report says that former First Lady Melania Trump has a short-list favorite to become her husband’s running mate in 2024
