Trump hasn’t officially announced whether he will run for president again in 2024, though he is widely expected to. An announcement either way is expected after the 2022 midterm elections.
That said, sources in Trump’s inner circle say that one name in particular is a likely choice as his vice-presidential nominee: Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.).
Multiple sources tell CNN (for some reason) that Stefanik has caught his eye, and that “conversations about adding Stefanik to a future Trump ticket have gained steam in recent weeks at Mar-a-Lago and in other Republican circles.”
CNN says that two people familiar with the ongoing discussions say Trump has been “surveying close friends and allies on what they think of Stefanik, one of several Republican women he is possibly eyeing for the potential VP slot, though he has not ruled out a few male contenders, too.”
“President Trump thinks very highly of Elise Stefanik. … She has been talked about in circles close to him as a potential vice presidential,” Chris Ruddy, a longtime friend of Trump, told CNN. “And there’s a feeling among a lot of people on the Republican side that they need to have a woman on the ticket this time.”
“There is a part of Trump who thinks he needs a female VP. He definitely likes her, likely because of how effusive she is to him,” one Trump adviser said.
For now, Stefanik’s camp dismisses talk of joining a national ticket.
“Congresswoman Stefanik is 100% focused on serving New York’s 21st Congressional District and as House Republican Conference Chair helping lead the efforts to take back the House in 2022 to fire Nancy Pelosi once and for all to save America,” said Alex DeGrasse, a senior adviser to Stefanik, said in a statement.
Trump, a life-long New York resident, officially switched his residency to Florida in 2019. The choice of a running mate often seeks to balance the ticket geographically, ideologically, or demographically. Should he run, it certainly would behoove him to choose a female running mate, but does Stefanik adequately balance the ticket? I’m not so sure, but there’s plenty of time and plenty of options for Trump to consider.
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