Former President Donald Trump is leading the Republican Party's quest to snag the nation's highest title again in 2024, and he's just revealed which colleagues he's considering taking with him to the top.
Though the GOP front-runner said he wouldn't officially announce his vice presidential pick "for a little while," he name-dropped two potentials to Fox News' Maria Bartiromo Sunday: South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
Both prominent Republicans have endorsed Trump for 2024 and have made their way onto the shortlist of contenders for the secondary role.
Scott's inclusion came after he ditched his own presidential campaign in November and then threw his full support behind the former president, dealing a blow to a fellow GOP South Carolina politician and now the only other person vying for candidacy, Nikki Haley.
"I called [Tim Scott] and I said, 'You're a much better candidate for me than you are for yourself,'" Trump told Fox News Sunday. "When I watched Tim, he was fine, he was good, but he was very low-key. I watched him in the last week, defending me and sticking up for me and fighting for me."
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As for Noem — who gave her "complete endorsement" for Trump in September, when many other Republican politicians hadn't chosen out of the crowded mix of hopefuls — she's previously said she would consider running with the former president but not against him, stating no one else could win "as long as Trump's in the race."
Trump mentioned this in speaking with Fox News Sunday, saying that comment and others show she's been "incredible" in "fighting" for his campaign. She later appeared on Fox News Sunday as well and said although the two "talk all the time," they haven't had a conversation about her being his potential running mate.
But even with the two names floating in the air, Trump told Bartiromo there are "so many great people" in his party and that his choice will come down to who would be able to step up in his absence.
"Always, it's got to be … who is going to be a good president," Trump told Fox News. "You always have to think that because in case of emergency, things happen, right? No matter who you are, things happen. That's got to be No. 1."
The former president did quiet rumors that he reached out to independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be on the ticket, but other murmured contenders remain, including New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, former presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy and even Haley.
