Donald Trump Jr. is on the search for a “fighter” to run alongside his father, former President Donald Trump, in the 2024 race for the White House.
Highlighting the importance of the vice presidential role, Trump Jr., who is lobbying his father to choose a running mate who is willing to take on distinct challenges, told the New York Post that the position needs someone who can take the political attacks — and hit back.
“What I want in that role is, I want a fighter,” said Trump Jr., 46. “I understand what they are going to throw at us.”
“In 2016 you needed someone to balance out [the ticket] — that’s where Mike Pence made sense, sort of the yin and yang, but [given] the vicious nature of the swamp and the insanity we see on a daily basis, you need someone who can take those hits,” said Trump Jr., the former president’s eldest child.
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In his comments to the outlet, Trump Jr. said he’s pushing people like Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio; former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy; and former Fox News host and conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.
Trump Jr., although he said he will “never rule anything out,” told the Post that he isn’t looking to serve in his father’s administration if he gets re-elected this November, a stark contrast to that of his sister, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner — both of whom served in senior White House roles during Trump’s first term in office.
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Should Trump get re-elected later this year, Trump Jr. noted that he plans to be “very active” with the 2024 presidential transition team. However, the Post reported that Trump Jr.’s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, would remain committed to fundraising.
“Mostly just to make sure we stop some of the D.C. swamp rats and the swamp creatures from getting in there and doing their thing,” he said.
As for other individuals he would like to see run alongside his father, Trump Jr. mentioned John Ratcliffe, who previously served as the director of national intelligence, and Cliff Sims, a former special assistant to Trump who made a variety of claims in a 2019 tell-all memoir detailing his brief stint at the White House.
Trump Jr. is mostly searching for someone who will be “loyal” and put forth the “America First” agenda that his father has preached for the last decade.
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“There are so many great people to choose from now with the first four years of the administration, you have a good understanding of who would be great and loyal and implement the America First policies,” he said.
Despite past remarks that his father has made with regard to political retribution, Trump Jr. told the outlet that his father is “going to lead the country the way it’s supposed to be led” and insisted that his sole “retribution will be success for our country.”
Earlier this year, Trump said he already knew whom he was going to select to serve as his running mate, but wouldn’t announce their name yet.
“I know who it’s going to be,” Trump said during a Fox News Town Hall event in January in Iowa.
Earlier this month, several reports suggested that Trump had ruled out having Ramaswamy serve as his running mate and was instead considering him for a cabinet position.
Several other leading Republicans — including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson — have been rumored to be under consideration as the former president’s running mate.
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