Former President Trump revealed Sunday that his pick for vice president or cabinet members could be one of his primary opponents if he wins the White House in 2024.
Speaking on “Sunday Morning Futures” on Fox News, Mr. Trump suggested businessman Vivek Ramaswamy or Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) could be his running mate. So far, Mr. Trump has directed his criticism toward Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the GOP primary, while Mr. DeSantis has suggested that he wouldn’t want to be Mr. Trump’s vice president in a recent interview.
When asked by Fox host Maria Bartiromo about whether his running mate could come from the Republican 2024 primary, Trump said, “Possibly.”
“I think Vivek has done a very good job, frankly. I think some others have done a good job,” the former president said. “You have some good people on the stage actually. I think you have some very talented people,” he also said. “I’ve been impressed by some of them. Some of them I’m very friendly with, actually.”
He added that “I think you have good potential Cabinet members, too,” without specifying.
When asked about Mr. Scott, the former president had praise for the Republican senator.
“I think he’s a very good guy. We did opportunity zones together … Tim is very good,” Mr. Trump said. “I mean, I could see Tim doing something with the administration, but he’s right now campaigning, and I’m sure Tim and everybody else would say I’m only interested in one, but Tim is a very talented guy and you have other very talented people.”
Mr. Trump wasn’t asked about whether he would consider former Vice President Mike Pence, who entered the race several weeks ago. Since early 2021, Mr. Trump has been sometimes critical of his former deputy for not taking action during the Joint Session of Congress on Jan. 6 during the presidential certification process.
Although the GOP 2024 field has widened, Mr. Trump, who was arrested on federal charges last month, is easily leading the pack. A Morning Consult poll released last week shows the former commander-in-chief at 56 percent, or about 39 percentage points ahead of Mr. DeSantis, who stood at 17 percent.
Mr. Ramasamy, meanwhile, polled at 8 percent, representing an increase in recent weeks. Mr. Pence had 7 percent support, the poll showed.
As for Mr. DeSantis, the governor said over the weekend that he would consider Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, as his running mate. It came after Mr. Trump complained about the governor for showing what he described as disloyalty to him after she appeared to support Mr. DeSantis.
Last week, Mr. Trump criticized Mrs. Reynolds, who is popular among the state’s GOP base, for her seemingly cozy relationship with Mr. DeSantis while stating her public neutrality as the lead Republican figure in the state that hosts the lead-off presidential caucuses in less than six months. Mrs. Reynolds has appeared with other GOP White House prospects, but has moderated conversations with Mr. DeSantis and his wife Casey DeSantis, while also attending Mr. Trump’s first campaign event in Iowa last March.
On the former president’s social media platform, Truth Social, the former president took credit for opening the governorship to Reynolds, who stepped into the role after Republican Gov. Terry Branstad became U.S. ambassador to China during the Mr. Trump administration. “Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’” he wrote, adding he would not invite her to his campaign events.
And last week, Mr. DeSantis proclaimed in an interview that he wouldn’t want to be Mr. Trump’s vice president should he win.
“I don’t think I’m a No. 2 guy. I think I’m a leader, governor of Florida. I’ve accomplished a lot,” Mr. DeSantis said in an interview with the Wisconsin Right Now podcast. “I think I could do more staying there than being VP, which doesn’t really have any authority.”
But Mr. DeSantis indicated that he would support Mr. Trump if he wins the GOP nominee. “I am going to support the Republican nominee,” he said when asked about whether he would support the ex-president.
