OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former President Donald Trump mentioned two individuals when asked who he would choose as his vice presidential running mate over the weekend.
During an interview on Fox News with host Maria Bartiromo, Trump named South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
“Well, I have a lot of good people. We have a lot of really good people. I have a lot of good ideas, but I haven’t — and there’s no reason to do that quickly. I speak to everybody. I called Tim Scott … and I said, ‘You’re a much better candidate for me than you are for yourself.’ When I watched Tim, he was fine, he was good, but he was very low-key, et cetera, et cetera,” Trump said.
“I watched him in the last week defending me and sticking up for me and fighting for me,” he continued. “I said, man, I said, ‘you’re a much better person for me than you are for yourself’, because, for himself, he was low-key. For me, he’s been a real tiger. He’s been incredible. And others have too.”
Trump stated that he would deliberate for “a while” before deciding and that having a good candidate for vice president is his top priority.
“Kristi Noem has been incredible fighting for me,” Trump added. “She said, I’d never run against him because I can’t beat him. That was a very nice thing to say.”
WATCH:
Trump brings up Tim Scott and Kristi Noem when asked about his pick for Vice President
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 4, 2024
Every major poll shows that Trump all but has the 2024 GOP nomination locked up, barring something unexpected.
Noem, a popular red state governor who has endorsed Trump, has been popping up more frequently in reports as someone Trump likes.
In an interview with Real America’s Voice streaming network earlier this month, Noem touched on several subjects, including potentially becoming Trump’s running mate.
“Well, there’s a lot of people they’re talking about for vice president… I have long supported President Trump; he had his priorities right when he was leading this country,” Noem said.
Noem endorsed Trump during a campaign rally in her state in September, CNN reported, “fueling speculation about the role the Republican governor may play in his third bid for the White House.”
“I think she’s fantastic,” Trump said in an interview in mid-September about her. “She’s been a great governor. She gave me a very full-throated endorsement—a beautiful endorsement, actually. It’s been a very good state for me, and certainly, she would be one of the people I would consider, or for something else, maybe. We have a lot of great people in the Republican Party.”
Donald #Trump name drops Gov. Kristi #Noem and Sen. Tim #Scott as potential 2024 running mates as he reveals criteria for his next vice president#Trump2024NowMorethanEver https://t.co/zBwqyOAQGk
— Jan Evelyn ✝️📖🌻🤺🇺🇸 AmericaFirst Trump2024 (@JEM_Books) February 4, 2024
Scott has chosen to back Trump over another GOP primary opponent and his own state’s former governor, Nikki Haley.
“It’s time for us to unite our party so that we make sure that the only target we’re talking about is firing Joe Biden,” Scott said at a Trump campaign rally in New Hampshire last month.
“The best way for us to get rid of Joe Biden as our president is to unite our party now behind Donald Trump,” added Scott, who ended his own 2024 presidential campaign in November.
“If you want four more years of Donald Trump, let me hear you scream!” said Scott as the rallygoers cheered.
“If you want the race to be over tomorrow, let me hear you scream! How many of y’all want four more years of low inflation under Donald Trump?! How many of y’all want four more years of low crime and high law and order under Donald J. Trump?! How many of y’all want me to stop talking so you can hear from your next president, Donald J. Trump? Four more years!” he said.
