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Former President Donald Trump confirmed that his shortlist of potential running mates included some surprises.
Trump, 77, acknowledged that former ally turned political rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and former Democratic presidential primary candidate Tulsi Gabbard, were among his options during a town hall event in Greenville, South Carolina, with FOX News' Laura Ingraham Tuesday (February 20) night. Ingraham included DeSantis and Gabbard while rattling off a list of potential names, which also included former Republican primary candidates Sen. Tim Scott and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, as well as Rep. Byron Donalds and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
“They are," Trump responded when asked by Ingraham if the names included were on his shortlist.
“They’re all solid,” Trump added. “And I always say I want people with common sense because there’s so many things happening in this country that don’t make sense.”
Trump said that the "first quality" he was looking for while considering running mates was their ability to be “a good president because if something should happen, you have to have somebody that’s going to be a great president," but acknowledged his belief that primary voters cared more about the name on top of the ticket rather than the running mate.
“The one thing that always surprises me is that the VP choice has absolutely no impact,” Trump said. “It’s whoever the president is, it just seems.”
Trump had previously teased that he'd already decided on his running mate during a previous town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, in January.