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Posts : 111040 Join date : 2014-07-29 Age : 100 Location : A Mile High
Subject: Re: VP SHORTLIST ANALYSIS Mon Oct 09, 2023 1:45 am
‘I Have To Like A Guy Like That’: Trump Drops Name of GOP Rival Who Could Be Running Mate Jon Dougherty, October 8, 2023
Donald Trump has not officially won the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and although he is leading the pack by a lot, his eventual victory, if it comes, won’t happen until next year. But because he is so far ahead of his Republican primary rivals and has been consistently, speculation has already begun about who he will select to be his running mate.
Several names have been dropped over the past, but the former president showed some favoritism to one of his GOP primary rivals late last month, saying he has “to like a guy like” Vivek Ramaswamy, a business entrepreneur who has been rising in the polls and has refrained from being critical of Trump, The Hill reported.
“Well, I think he’s great. Look, anybody that said I’m the best president in a generation … I have to like a guy like that,” Trump told Glenn Beck in a call-in interview on Blaze TV, in reference to comments Ramaswamy made during the first GOP primary debate last week.
“He’s a smart guy. He’s a young guy. He’s got a lot of talent. He’s a very, very, very intelligent person,” Trump continued. “He’s got good energy, and he could be in some form of something. I tell ya, I think he’d be very good. I think he’s really distinguished himself.”
He went on to say that the entrepreneur has become “a little bit controversial” as he has gained more notoriety.
The Hill added:
Ramaswamy, the 38-year-old entrepreneur, was among the most prominent candidates on the debate stage last week in Milwaukee. He has gained significant media attention as his poll numbers have ticked up and as he has made various inflammatory and controversial statements.
He has said he would cede parts of Ukraine to Russia to end the war in Ukraine; he has suggested the U.S. should cut off support to Israel; and he has faced backlash for incendiary remarks about Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), comparing the Black lawmaker to “modern grand wizards” of the Ku Klux Klan.
According to RealClearPolitics’ average of polls, Ramaswamy has risen to third place behind Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Then again, after she heartily endorsed him earlier this month, Trump has indicated his strong affinity for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
“I think she’s fantastic,” Trump said in an interview. “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.”
Earlier, Trump said he likes “the concept” of selecting a woman as his running mate but that he’s not wedded to the idea, per se, and is instead looking for “the right person.”
“You always do a little bit, but I really don’t think it’s time,” Trump said, per the Washington Examiner. “I want to win, and, you know, it’s very interesting about running mates, when you get down to a vice president, they said, ‘Nobody has ever made that kind of a difference.’ It’s still about the person that’s going to be president.”
The outlet noted further:
Noem endorsed Trump during a rally in South Dakota earlier this month, delivering a speech in the vein of an audition to be his running mate. When asked earlier this year about serving as vice president with him, she said she would “do all I can to help him be successful” if he became president again.
Other women Trump is reportedly considering for vice president include former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), and Gov. Sarah Sanders (R-AR)
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