Tipsheet

Trump Thinks There May Be a Role for This Primary Challenger in His Administration

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  July 17, 2023 7:30 PM

Former and potentially future President Donald Trump just came off of a busy weekend, which included an interview with Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," during which host Maria Bartiromo asked him about some of his primary opponents, particularly if Trump could see any as his vice president. Trump spoke positively of one opponent in particular, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).

Trump, who spoke about Scott after being directly prompted by Bartiromo, was overall vague on who, exactly, he would select as his running mate. When asked "is there anyone on that stage you see as potential running mate, as your VP," Trump answered "possibly." The frontrunner also shared that "I think you have some good people on the stage. Actually, I think you have some very talented people. I've been impressed by some of them. Some of them I'm very friendly with."

He also revealed, although he would not name them, as he was "not going to embarrass them," that "a number of them called me up not to ask for permission, but sort of to ask for permission, to say they'd like to do it."

"I think you have good people. I think you have good potential Cabinet members to actually do that," Trump hinted.

When asked about Scott, Trump responded that "I think he's a very good guy," mentioning that "we did opportunity zones together." Trump added "Tim is very good. I mean, I could see Tim doing something with the administration, but he's in right now campaigning," emphasizing "Tim is a talented guy, and you have other very talented people."

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Scott isn't running for president to take on some other job, though. When reached for comment, the Scott campaign directed Townhall to comments he made to Fox News' Neil Cavuto last week, when the host pointed out that Scott is quickly rising to be voters' second choice. "Are you interested, or would you be interested should you fail to get the nomination, to be the runner-up? To be the guy running with the person who wins," Cavuto asked. 

During the exchange, Scott pointed out that "I don't think everybody wants me to be number two. Some people want me to be the number one." He made clear "I'm going to continue to run this race for one objective, it's to be the president of the United States. I did not enter this race to come in second place. Second place is the first loser."

"From my perspective," Scott pointed out, "the only way to run for president is to do it 100 percent of the time," making clear he's currently running to be the president. "All we're focused on is making sure that the next generation of stories of the American dream make mine pale in comparison. We're the city on the hill, Neil. We must remain the beacon in the midst of the storm," he said, offering a hopeful message. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who is currently in a distant second place behind Trump, just recently ruled out being Trump's running mate. "I don’t think so. I’m not a No. 2 guy," he said during a radio interview. He also pointed out that the vice president "doesn’t really have any authority."

Trump also referenced another primary opponent, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, when he was actually asked about DeSantis, specifically if the governor could see himself possibly improving in the polls if Trump does not show up to next month's RNC debate hosted by Fox News. Trump continues to suggest that he may not attend the first debate.

"Or somebody else has a good night and cuts into his lead because that's what's happening. He's going down and a couple of them are going up. I think Vivek [Ramaswamy] has done a very good job, frankly," Trump responded.

Ramaswamy currently enjoys 4.5 percent support, according to RealClearPolitics (RCP), placing him in fourth behind Trump, DeSantis, and former Vice President Mike Pence.

As for whether or not Trump will show up to the debate, he told Bartiromo that "I haven’t really made up my mind."