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Trump’s Running Mate — Who Will Donald Trump Choose As Vice President If He’s President?

By Susan Macdonald
Published on: 03:52 PST, Apr 13, 2016

If Donald Trump is elected president, who is likely to be his vice-president?

Business Insider reported that Republican front-runner Donald Trump is dropping hints about his possible vice president. In an interview with USA Today, Trump admitted that he would consider some of his presidential rivals as possible running mates or cabinet members. The businessman and reality TV host specifically mentioned Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, Governor John Kasich of Ohio, and Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin.

“There are people I have in mind in terms of vice president. I just haven’t told anybody names…. I do like Marco. I do like Kasich. … I like Walker actually in a lot of ways. I hit him very hard…. But I’ve always liked him. There are people I like, but I don’t think they like me because I have hit them hard.”

According to Politico, Walker was so “shocked” when he heard Trump mention him as a possible vice president that he laughed out loud. Walker said he wasn’t interested in being Trump’s running mate, but pointed out that with a possible brokered convention, the vice-presidential candidate may be picked by the delegates rather than by the party’s nominee.

“I think if you’ve got a contested convention, I don’t know that anyone’s going to get the pick. The delegates may pick the vice presidential running mate.”

Walker also pointed out that Abraham Lincoln, the second Republican candidate for president after John Frémont and the first Republican to be elected president, wasn’t chosen as the party’s nominee until the third ballot at a contested convention in 1860. Lincoln’s first vice president, Hannibal Hamlin, was also selected at the 1860 convention in New York; he and Lincoln met for the first time after the election.

Many political pundits have suggested that Marco Rubio of Florida was never serious about running for president in 2016, but rather setting himself up for a presidential run in 2020 or 2024. Bloomberg mentioned the possibility of a Walker-Rubio ticket last June. A Kasich-Rubio ticket has been discussed by the Inquisitr and urged by Montel Williams. Although Rubio has officially dropped out of the presidential election, he currently has more delegates than Kasich. Rubio has not yet released those delegates to vote their consciences, and could use them as a negotiating point to share the ticket with Trump or Kasich.

https://www.facebook.com/MarcoRubio/videos/vb.58736997707/10154006054007708/?type=2&theater

Kasich says there is “zero chance” of him accepting the role of Donald Trump’s vice president. However, party loyalty and concern for the nation in the hands of a political neophyte may persuade him to change his mind, especially with the increasing likelihood of a brokered convention.

https://www.facebook.com/JohnKasich/videos/vb.77590795932/10153385195135933/?type=2&theater

Donald Trump has admitted that since he is running as a political outsider, he would consider a vice-presidential candidate with actual political experience. Most people embarking on a political career do not consider President of the United States an entry-level position.

“I would want somebody that could help me with government, so most likely that would be a political person. You want somebody that can help you with legislation, getting it through.”

Several names have been mentioned besides Rubio, Kasich, and Walker. Governor Susana Martinez of New Mexico has been suggested. As a Latina lawyer and administrator, she not only has political experience Trump lacks, but might help balance the public perception of Trump, who has often been accused of racism, sexism, and misogyny by his detractors. Trump himself mentioned former senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts, now residing in New Hampshire, as a possible vice president. Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, was the first sitting governor to endorse Trump, and he’s admitted he’s open to the possibility of being Trump’s vice president. Dr. Ben Carson said Donald Trump promised him a role in a Trump administration. Most people assumed this would be Surgeon General or Secretary of Health and Human Services, but could Trump have offered to make Carson the first African-American vice president in return for his endorsement? Even his own daughter, Ivanka Trump Kushner, has been suggested as a possible running mate.

If Donald Trump is elected president, who will be his vice president?

[Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]

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