Former President Donald Trump remains well ahead of his Republican rivals for the GOP nomination in most surveys, and as such, he’s already considering who he wants to be his running mate.
He hasn’t named a potential VP candidate yet, but he appeared to eliminate several names during a campaign speech this week following the second Republican presidential primary debate: ‘None of the above.’
During a Wednesday speech in Michigan, Trump referred to the GOP candidates congregated in California for the second Republican primary debate as “all job candidates.”
“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 told the crowd at an auto parts plant in Clinton Township.
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, told The Washington Post later in an email that Trump “was very clear in his remarks” though he didn’t say whether all seven of the candidates on the debate stage were hard no’s when it came to a running mate, though a couple of them probably are, such as Chris Christie and former Vice President Mike Pence.
That said, Trump name-dropped someone earlier this month.
“I think she’s fantastic,” Trump said in an interview regarding South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. “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.”
She officially endorsed Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination during a rally at Rapid City, leading to fresh rumors that she is on his short list as a running mate.
In fact, during the rally, as Noem introduced Trump on stage, just briefly on a big screen overhead flashed “TRUMP-NOEM 2024.”
Earlier on Newsmax TV, former Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake appeared to make her case that she’d be a better choice, if for no other reason than because she has publicly supported him longer, she said.
“Well, I think tonight’s gonna be an amazing event. I’m glad that Governor Noem is endorsing President Trump. I’ve endorsed him since before he even jumped in because we need him so badly, and I know that she recognizes that as well,” she told host Eric Bolling.
“You know, you talk about VP, and my name has been thrown out there. I’m truly not thinking about that. You know, I walked away from a career where I had fame and a fortune, and I walked away from that because what good is fame and fortune and a big contract if you don’t have a country to enjoy that in?” she asked.
“So frankly, anybody who’s talking about a position and dreaming of a position in Trump’s second administration really needs to get off their high horse and get down on the ground and start hitting the ground, in the grassroots, and making sure that President Trump has a second administration, and that’s what I’m doing,” Lake proclaimed, appearing to take a small swipe at Noem.
She said her primary objective is to stop President Joe Biden and Democrats from getting reelected and making the country even worse off than it is now.
“Every day I’m out there pushing for what President Trump has planned to get us out of the mess Joe Biden has gotten us into. I’m not thinking about any other position except how do we save our republic and what can I do each day that I wake up to make sure I’m doing my part,” Lake asserted.
“That’s why I’m working with my court cases in Arizona, that’s why I’m speaking tomorrow with a group of Republicans here in Florida along with Byron Donalds to make sure that we show them why America First policies will save this country,” she went on.
“That’s my goal and I think that’s probably Governor Noem’s goal as well. I think the media is playing into this big horse race, who’s who, who’s in front, who’s in the running, and frankly, it doesn’t matter. President Trump, frankly, he doesn’t even need a VP he’s so powerful,” Lake said.
“He does,” Bolling contended. “He does.”
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