Clue Dropped About Trump’s Potential 2024 Running Mate

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OPINION: This article contains commentary which may reflect the author’s opinion

As the Republican National Committee revealed this week that it will hold the 2924 Republican Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, speculation as to the plans of Former President Donald Trump to run for the Oval Office abound.

As it seems more and more likely that Trump will run, the questions have turned to who would be his running mate if he did.

A few names are rumored to be in the running for the position.

“There is a part of Trump who thinks he needs a female VP. He definitely likes her, likely because of how effusive she is to him,” an adviser to the former president said.

The former president has said, “And there’s a feeling among a lot of people on the Republican side that they need to have a woman on the ticket this time.”

Along with those sentiments, there is the political question of who would complete the Trump Team in regard how conservative they are and in which area of the country they reside.

One name floated in the media is South Dakota GOP Gov. Kristi Noem.

Noem said that she will support Trump if he runs again in 2024 but declined to say if she wants to be his running mate.

“I think that there’s a lot of people out there who would like his running mate. I’m focused on getting reelected,” Noem told CNN’s co-anchor Dana Bash.

“I don’t operate in that hypothetical either,” Noem continued. “I would be shocked if he asked. And right now, I’m just so focused on South Dakota. We’re doing great things, and we’ve got a lot more to do the next four years.”

Another name recently pushed is Iowa GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds.

“While states like Iowa and Ohio didn’t budge much in 2020, a few purple states shifted to be a bit bluer in the last election.

To shed some of that East Coast Elite baggage, Trump could look to a running mate from the Midwest.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is also a woman with executive leadership experience,” Market Realist reported.

“She’s all but a lock to win a second term in 2022’s gubernatorial race, so accepting a VP nomination would mean abandoning her term, but Iowa has been solidly red for the past several cycles, so fear of flipping the governor’s mansion blue is unlikely to cause her any concern.

Reynolds is in her 60s. While not exactly youthful, it’s a lot closer to the median age of presidents (55) than Trump, who will be 78 in 2024,” the report added.

In the polls, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is running second to Trump as a favorite.

During an interview last month on Newsmax, Trump spoke about the idea of Florida’s DeSantis being his running mate.

“Well, I get along with him,” Trump said before going on to take credit for DeSantis’ rise: “I was very responsible for his success because I endorsed him and he went up like a rocket ship.”

In April, a survey found that Trump and DeSantis were tied in terms of several favorable areas, while he surpassed the 45th president in others.

Now there is talk of a new contender for running mate to Trump.

One recent report speculated that New York Rep. Elise Stefanik is likely a frontrunner.

Stefanik has served New York’s 21st Congressional district since 2015.

She is the chair of the House Republican Conference since 2021, and is the third ranking House Republican.

Stefanik has gained notice with Trump allies as she is believed by Trump and others to have undergone a genuine transformation by leaving the moderate wing of the Republican Party for the more conservative and increasingly powerful “America First” Republicans.

In the last 24 hours, Stefanik tweeted, ” Congressional oversight of the FBI is more important than ever. The FBI’s history of refusing to answer basic questions from Members of Congress on behalf of the American People must END.”

While talk about a 2024 vice-presidential pick is of course premature, conversations about adding Stefanik to a future Trump ticket have gained steam in recent weeks at Mar-a-Lago and in other Republican circles, sources said.

Current and former advisers and others in Trump’s orbit have privately argued that the New York Republican, who replaced Rep. Liz Cheney as the no. 3 House Republican last year, is a fierce and loyal attack dog and as speculated, Trump would benefit from tapping a woman for vice president should he run again.

One reason for this rumor is that reportedly Trump has been asking others of their opinion on Stefanik.

Two people familiar with the matter said Trump has been surveying close friends and allies on what they think of The New York Rep.

“President Trump thinks very highly of Elise Stefanik. … She has been talked about in circles close to him as a potential vice president,” Chris Ruddy, a longtime friend of the former president, reports Conservative Brief.

Source: The Republic Brief