Donald Trump has dramatically revealed that he already knows who he will choose as his running mate if he is the 2024 Republican presidential candidate.
But the GOP frontrunner isn’t telling anyone else about his thinking yet, and it wasn’t clear whether he has informed the person he wants to be his future vice president.
When asked who it would be Wednesday night during a Fox News town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, the former president said, “I can’t really tell you, I mean, I know who it’s going to be.”
He declined to name the person when host Martha MacCallum pressed him on their identity.
Donald Trump has revealed he knows who he will choose as his running mate
Trump at town hall
“What about the people you’ve bumped into?” MacCallum asked. “Would you be open to mending fences with any of them?”
“Oh sure. I will do it, I will do it,” Trump responded.
He then joked that he could choose Chris Christie, who was his most outspoken critic among the other Republican candidates.
“I’ve started to like Christie more,” Trump said.
“Christie as vice president?” MacCallum joked.
“I don’t see it, I don’t see it,” Trump said. ‘That would be a shock. Christie for vice president. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to announce…nah.”
Christie was one of Trump’s top finalists for his running mate in 2016, but he chose Mike Pence instead.
This time, the favorites include South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and Senator Tim Scott.
Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina who is running against Trump for the presidential nomination, has not ruled out becoming his running mate.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is a potential running mate
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik’s name is also on the list
However, some of Trump’s most prominent supporters have expressed opposition to the idea of a Trump-Haley ticket.
Trump campaign adviser Chris LaCivita told reporters after Trump’s appearance: “All I know is what I heard tonight and I’m not going to categorize it any other way.”
“The president knows what qualities he wants in an ice president, and as far as specific names go, we’ll leave that up to him,” senior adviser Jason Miller added. Asked whether Trump had told his team he had made a decision in his mind, Miller said Trump “shared with us that he knows the nature of the qualities” in a VP.
Other names on the list include Congresswomen Elise Stefanick and Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance.
Trump also told the town hall that he was not concerned that Christie’s exit from the presidential race Wednesday could boost Haley’s candidacy.
“I’m not particularly concerned about it,” Trump said. ‘I love the people. They love me, I think.’
Christie’s support was heavily concentrated in New Hampshire, the northeastern US state that will host the second Republican nomination contest on January 23, after Iowa on Monday.
Nikki Haley has not ruled out becoming a running mate
Chris Christie will not be Trump’s running mate
Trump noted that Christie was overheard on Wednesday predicting that former U.N. Ambassador Haley would “get smoked” in the race and was “not up to the task” of the presidency.
The former president said he agreed with Christie on that.
Trump maintains a commanding lead in the battle to become the Republican Party’s nominee against President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 general election, according to a Reuters/Ipsos national poll completed on Tuesday.
The poll put him at 49 percent, ahead of Haley at 12 percent and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at 11 percent.
The town hall took place at the same time that DeSantis and Haley came out swinging during a head-to-head debate.
Both are trying to emerge as the clear alternative to Trump, just days before the first votes are cast for the Iowa campaign.
