During a town hall in South Carolina on Tuesday, former president and current GOP primary frontrunner Donald Trump confirmed the members of the shortlist for his vice president.
Trump revealed his potential running mate picks to the crowd at the Fox News town hall, which was hosted by Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham.
The conversation began when Ingraham listed several of the popular picks for his running mate, many of whom have been floated by Republican voters as great choices — including entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), Democrat-turned-independent former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (HI) and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL). Ingraham’s list also included two of Trump’s former rivals in the GOP primary, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).
The Fox News host questioned Trump about these Republican leaders, asking: “Are they all on your shortlist?”
Trump responded that “they are,” then went on to point out the realities of the search for a running mate — noting that the vice president essentially has no impact on the actual administration, they are instead typically chosen strategically to help the presidential candidate pick up votes from a group that he lacks support from.
“The VP choice has absolutely no impact. It’s whoever the president is,” Trump explained. “You would like to get somebody that could help you from the voter standpoint and honestly, all of those people are good. They’re all good. They’re all solid.”
The former president also explained that two of the most important qualities in a running mate are their ability to connect with voters and their grasp of “common sense.”
Many conservatives celebrated the news that their chosen candidates made it on the list, especially Ramaswamy — who has become a favorite of many Trump supporters.
🚨BREAKING: Trump confirms Vivek is on his VP shortlist: "Yeah… All of those people are good. They're all solid." pic.twitter.com/liUb3Ksgnz
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 21, 2024
Trump also specifically highlighted Scott during the discussion, prompting speculation on social media that the South Carolina senator is likely at the top of Trump’s shortlist.
“You have to have somebody that would be a good president. A lot of people are talking about that gentleman over there,” Trump told Ingraham, pointing to Scott and eliciting applause from the audience. “He’s been so great, such a great advocate. Tim Scott, he has been better for me than for himself. I watched his campaign and he doesn’t like talking about himself, he talks about Trump. I said, Tim, you are better for me than for yourself.
He’s fantastic and a fantastic person.”
🚨BREAKING: Trump singles-out Tim Scott in audience when asked about his 2024 VP pick pic.twitter.com/jwnxKqJxXe
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 21, 2024
