Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) has expressed an interest in becoming Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate, but the former president isn’t having it.
A trio of South Carolina Republicans told the Daily Beast that Mace has been holding herself up as a potential VP through various media appearances, publicity stunts, and bold social media posts.
But, a source close to the former president said he “absolutely hates Nancy Mace,” while one of her former aides said: “I would see Trump pick [Mike] Pence before he picks Mace.”
“She would absolutely dump on Trump,” her former aide said, adding that “there’s no chance in hell” Trump would pick her.
“She despises him,” the former aide added. “She would call him an idiot and use other sorts of words… She is not a friend of Trump, and Trump is not a friend of hers.”
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung also dismissed the notion out of hand: “None of these so-called sources know what they’re talking about. If they spent half the time spreading untrue stories as they do on their mental health, they’d be much happier people,” he said.
This RINO thinks she can slide her way into becoming Trump's VP… https://t.co/bE6pDg8EDS
— USA Features Media (@UsaFeatures) October 24, 2023
That said, another rising GOP female star, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, most definitely is on Trump’s short list for running mates.
“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,” he said of Noem in a recent interview.
He added that he liked “the concept” of selecting a woman as his running mate but was 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.”
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
