Now that former President Trump has handily won the Iowa GOP presidential caucuses and polls show him winning the primaries and even beating incumbent president Joe Biden in November, speculation has naturally turned to who his running mate would be. It won’t be former VP Mike Pence, of that we can be assured.
Many names have been floated: NY Rep. Elise Stefanik, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, former ambassador to the U.N./South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), former Arizona newscaster Kari Lake, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, and a host of others.
But another name that has been thrown out there multiple times is media personality and onetime Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The former president himself was warm to the idea in November of 2023:
President Trump tells @ClayTravis and @BuckSexton he'll consider @TuckerCarlson for VP: "I like Tucker a lot. I guess I would consider him. He’s got great common sense."
— The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show (@clayandbuck) November 8, 2023
More in the podcast: https://t.co/WvNDsUybBx pic.twitter.com/0n5r2EWQmN
Then, none other than Melania Trump herself reportedly endorsed the idea back in December ’23, but Carlson quickly responded by saying, “I have no interest in that.”
That hasn’t stopped the speculation, however, and on Thursday, one of 45’s sons, Don Jr., said on Newsmax’s Wake Up America, “I would love to see that happen.”
‘That clearly would be on the table, right? I mean they’re very friendly, I think they agree on virtually all of these things,’ Don Jr. said.
‘I would love to see that happen. That would certainly be a contender,’ the former president’s eldest son said, adding that Trump and Carlson agree on ‘stopping the never-ending war.’
Watch:
Don Trump JR says he would "love" to see his father pick Tucker Carlson as VP. pic.twitter.com/fDZmGwbLY6
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) January 18, 2024
Noting that the choice was not his to make, Trump Jr. said he also wouldn’t discount the possibility of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis being made the pick.
‘You need someone who’s in alignment, as well as, like, aggressive. You actually need a fighter,’ Don Jr. said.
‘The Republicans in Washington, D.C., are weak. You can have the House, the Senate, and they’ll still roll over.’
He also offered support for Trump’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development secretary Ben Carson, but there is one person who he really doesn’t want to see getting the VP nod – Nikki Haley.
‘I would do whatever I could to make sure it wasn’t Nikki Haley.’ he said. ‘I don’t think that’s currently really on the table. That’s my opinion, I don’t make these decisions.’
Don Jr. also refused to call Haley a Republican on Thursday’s show, saying, ‘I think she’s being funded by Democrats, right? I mean, you see that.’
‘She’s got Democrat megadonors funding her campaign. The people who are getting her gains in New Hampshire are all Democrats.’
‘So, I probably see that as part of that sort of globalist Democrat, RINO tactic of dragging this out to make it harder for Trump to win a general,’ he added.
While Tucker fans would doubtless love to have Carlson on the ticket, I don’t see it, as talks would probably go nowhere quickly. It’s not that he doesn’t support the former president or his agenda, it’s that he’s having a heckuva a time at his new venture, the streaming “Tucker Carlson Network,” and sees himself as being more effective as a commentator than as a politician.
Still, it’s an interesting prospect. Also notable to me: the president’s son didn’t rule out DeSantis. Although the feuds between Trump Sr. and Florida’s impactful conservative governor have taken on a personal tone in recent months as they fight for the GOP nomination, Don Jr. seems to be signaling things could be patched over once the dust settles.
And although he’s not the boss — he does have the boss’ ear.
