OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Speculation has been rife for months regarding who former President Donald Trump will pick as his 2024 running mate. While nothing official has been announced, another name has emerged as a possibility.
Former White House strategist Steve Bannon shared some interesting information about Trump’s potential VP pick as the GOP primary is starting to heat up.
Bannon argued on his “War Room” podcast that he is a big supporter of Arizona Republican Kari Lake and would prefer to see her on Trump’s ticket. In the case that Lake is not interested, Bannon said he thinks 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., could be Trump’s running mate.
Bannon said he recently did a Question & Answer session and that someone asked him for his thoughts on Kennedy, Jr.
“Somebody asked about Robert F. Kennedy and the great speech at Hillsdale, his opening speech, and what did I think about his prospects,” Bannon began.
“And I said, ‘Look, I’m a Kari Lake person, but if Kari Lake becomes governor, as she should if this court case, or if not, she runs for the Senate. If she’s not available to be Trump’s VP that Bobby Kennedy would be, I think, an excellent choice for President Trump to consider. There was a standing ovation and this was a very hardcore MAGA war room posse crowd,” Bannon explained.
“I think that that is a signal to the political elites in this country that something very different is going on. And I thought it was quite extraordinary. Robert Kennedy Jr. has huge support for the American populist movement. Look for the GOP elites to start their attacks on Bobby any day now,” Bannon continued.
RFK Jr., the son of the late U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, announced earlier this month that he is running for president.
Kennedy spoke at Hillsdale College recently and detailed the importance of freedom, warned of totalitarianism, and blasted the overpowering government that has only gotten stronger over the years.
Several other names have been floated in recent months.
Larry Elder said he would “take the call” if Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis offered to make him their 2024 running mate. Elder, who is running for president in 2024, urged Republicans to “unite behind a candidate whose last name is other than Trump” in order to “win in November 2024.”
Trump’s team recently shared some interesting insight into his potential running mate.
Trump insiders said the 45th president is likely to pick a vice presidential candidate that is “loyal,” has “charisma,” and is “ideologically aligned” with him.
“No candidates have publicly announced their intent to be Trump’s VP, but the former president has indicated that ‘a lot of people’ are ‘auditioning’ behind the scenes. Trump insiders told the Caller that although there haven’t been any formal discussions to narrow down the pool, there are a set of characteristics that will likely be considered,” the Daily Caller reported.
“We do know one thing about Trump, is that he puts a lot of weight on how well you present yourself. That really matters to him, so I suspect that will matter for his VP choice,” a GOP consultant close to Trump told the Caller, adding that the person needs to be “TV ready.”
While the insiders did not name anyone specifically in the interview, they did at least share some insight into the type of person he would be interested in.
One report speculated that Trump could choose one of these women: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Arizona Republican Kari Lake.
Fox News host Greg Gutfeld speculated that he believes Trump would pick former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard.
