Donald Trump may be poised to put aside another grudge within the Republican Party and elevate a former rival as his running mate in 2024.
Former President It is said that consider Three names Here are his current top picks to be the GOP’s vice presidential nominee as he prepares for a rematch with President Joe Biden this fall.
After his last vice president, Mike Pence, refused to endorse him, Trump’s list of potential choices has shrunk to include only Republicans convinced the former president would serve as a loyal yes-man in a hypothetical second administration.
And one of the trio is a longtime sparring partner: his former 2016 primary opponent, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. The senator, who was famously called “Lil’ Marco” by then-candidate Trump, dropped out of the race eight years ago after an ugly loss in his home state.
Trump has spoken to confidants and advisers several times in recent weeks about his latest top picks The Washington Post, And joined the conservative outlet Newsmax in June for an interview in which he specifically mentioned Rubio.
“Governor Burgum from North Dakota has been incredible. Marco Rubio has been great. JT Vance has been great. We have a lot of great people — Ben Carson,” Trump said. Burgum and Vance, governor of North Dakota and senator from Ohio, respectively, are thought to be two other names high on his list.
Rubio’s admission is notable because of his reversal in his view of Trump the man. In 2016, he repeatedly attacked his opponent’s character and even made a rude comment referring to Trump’s masculinity.
“Did you see his hands?” He said in 2016.[Y]You know what they say about men with small hands?”
Trump, in turn, mercilessly insulted Rubio (and his other GOP opponents).
Trump has yet to formally announce his running mate. The Mail Trump may wait until the week of the GOP convention in July to make his choice, it said.
Carson also ran for the GOP nomination in 2016, and Burgum ran against Trump earlier this year. But neither man took any hostile tone against the former president, instead becoming his most vocal allies. Burgum said he would not serve as Trump’s vice president if asked in 2023, saying his appearance on the former president’s shortlist would give him a bad face.
Rubio, who became a vocal supporter of Trump after his 2016 defeat, took the opposite position as Burgum. He said he would be honored to accept a second term as Trump’s vice president.
“Anyone who is offered the opportunity to serve their country as vice president should consider it an honor,” the senator told NBC News in March, while insisting that he was not lobbying for himself within the Trump world.
The Biden campaign has indicated that Florida, a state where Democrats have suffered heavy losses in recent election cycles, is either winnable or worth running in 2024. The president and his team have made abortion rights a central issue for Biden. They are trying to pressure Trump on his home turf in his re-election bid.
But adding Rubio to Trump’s ticket could be a setback against those efforts.
“I think he’s the candidate that the Biden campaign is most afraid of,” said Florida-based Republican strategist Justin Saife. said the mountain Rubio’s Potential Addition to Trump 2024 Ticket “Of all the people that President Trump could have as his running mate, I don’t think the Biden campaign would want to see Marco Rubio on the ticket.”
