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Don Jr. says he wants ‘a fighter’ to be dad’s VP, throws out three heavy-hitting names

March 23, 2024 | | Print Article

Former President Donald Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., has some thoughts about who deserves to be his dad’s running mate.

Speaking with the New York Post this week, he revealed that he wants someone who can take a punch and hit back even harder.

“What I want in that role is I want a fighter,” he said. “I understand what they are going to throw at us.”

“In 2016 you needed someone to balance out [the ticket] — that’s where Mike Pence made sense, sort of the yin and yang, but [given] the vicious nature of the swamp and the insanity we see on a daily basis, you need someone who can take those hits,” he added.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is definitely NOT in the current running.

Asked to name names, Trump Jr. pointed to Republican Sen. J.D. Vance, conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy as examples of potentially good running mates for his dad.

As for him and his fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle, they don’t plan to follow the path of his sister, Ivanka, who became a central West Wing figure alongside her husband, Jared Kushner, during their father’s first term in office. Though FYI, Trump Jr. admitted he’d “never rule anything out.”

That being said, if his father wins reelection, he does plan to take a “very active” role in his presidential transition, while his fiancée would stick to fundraising.

“Mostly just to make sure we stop some of the D.C. swamp rats and the swamp creatures from getting in there and doing their thing,” he said of his interest in taking part in the presidential transition.

As to whom he’d like to assist him with the transition, he named former Trump-era Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe and former special assistant to then-President Trump, Cliff Sims.

“There are so many great people to choose from. Now, with the first four years of the administration, you have a good understanding of who would be great and loyal and implement the America First policies,” Trump Jr. said.

Lastly, the younger Trump dismissed as a “joke” his father’s threat that he’ll one day indict current President Joe Biden just like Biden’s administration has indicted him.

“He’s going to lead the country the way it’s supposed to be led,” Trump Jr. said. “His retribution will be success for our country.”

Trump Jr.’s words to the Post come amid a report filed Friday by CNN noting that his father’s “vice presidential shortlist is very long — and in flux.”

The report from CNN notes that Trump senior has in recent days and weeks mentioned the likes of Sen. Vance, Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Tim Scott, Rep. Elise Stefanik, former Trump Cabinet official Ben Carson,  South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, and even former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley as potential running mates.

“The presumptive GOP nominee is floating them all as he weighs who the next potential vice president will be,” according to CNN. “Trump routinely asks allies, donors and Mar-a-Lago members for their take. Sources said his interest in potential candidates is frequently changing and is often based on recent conversations with various allies.”

“One day he is trashing someone, and the next day he is asking allies about that person as vice president,” an unnamed Trump adviser told the network. “Sometimes he’s just curious what people think of them.”

The bad news is that he’s reportedly nowhere close to making a final decision and hasn’t even yet spoken to many of these figures about the prospect of them running as his vice president.

The good news is that the former president reportedly plans to announce his VP pick before the GOP convention in July.

“Trump and those in his inner circle had at one point considered an announcement of his running mate shortly after he had secured enough delegates to win the GOP presidential nomination, and advisers say that Trump may yet decide on an earlier announcement,” according to CNN.

Vivek Saxena
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