The most coveted position in the Republican Party right now is to be Trump’s right hand man. Now we know who it could be.
And the leaked Trump VP short list set Capitol Hill on fire.
Almost all of the potential running mates on Donald Trump’s vice presidential shortlist have previously stated or indicated that they are willing to serve as his No. 2.
Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem are all potential Trump vice presidential candidates, the former president told Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham Tuesday night.
Only DeSantis has explicitly ruled out serving with Trump, stating in a private chat with The New York Post on Wednesday that he is “not doing that” but may run for president again in 2028.
Noem has been the most ardent in pledging to be Trump’s running mate. She was one of the first governors to support his reelection, campaigned for him, and told Newsmax in September that she would be his vice president “in a heartbeat.”
Gabbard, the only other woman on the list, has likewise expressed openness to the possibility.
“I’d be open to that conversation. My mission in life is to serve our country and serve the American people and find the best way to be able to do that,” Gabbard told Fox News last week.
Donalds has also stated that he is open to a VP nomination.
The representative told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures that he “wants to do whatever I can to get our country back on track” and that “with respect to being potentially on the ticket, that’s really up to the president.”
Scott and Ramaswamy, who both withdrew out of the 2024 contest and supported Trump, have campaigned alongside the former president. After Trump’s triumph in New Hampshire, both former candidates stood on stage with him and expressed their belief that he should return to the presidency.
Scott recently declined to rule out becoming vice president, although he appeared to be hesitant about the idea, at least publicly.
“The only thing I want is four more years of Donald Trump and a Republican majority in the Senate, majority in the House and the White House so that poor kids, who are today growing up in neighborhoods like I grew up in, have a chance for quality education,” Scott said on CNN’s State of the Union.
The senator went on to say that he wants American youngsters to think that “America is their oyster” and that “they can have whatever they want,” and that he will do whatever it takes.
“If I can help achieve that through my endorsement by being on the campaign trail in my home state of South Carolina for the next four or five weeks and then beyond — that’s the goal,” he said in a statement.
Ramaswamy may be influenced by the veepstakes, as he has remained vocal on the matter since withdrawing from the race after Iowa and endorsing Trump. During the race, he stated that he was not a “plan B option.”
Trump’s top adviser, Jason Miller, told The New York Post that the biotech mogul was “basically” ruled out as vice president after Trump blasted him in a Truth Social post before Iowa.
However, Ramaswamy has since delivered speeches for Trump in South Carolina on Wednesday and has been photographed with the former president at Mar-a-Lago.
South Carolina voters told The New York Post that they would be open to anybody Trump chooses, but they do have certain preferences.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
