Prominent Republican figures like Senators JD Vance of Ohio and Tim Scott of South Carolina have long been touted as potential running mates for former President Donald Trump.
But one of their Senate colleagues also emerged as a potential choice: Tom Cotton of Arkansas.
According to the New York Times, Trump considers Cotton a fan of television news appearances, an important channel for reaching Republican audiences. The former president also admires Cotton’s military service and overseas deployments and praises the fact that the senator was educated at Harvard.
Besides Cotton, Vance and Scott, Trump is also strongly considering Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as potential vice presidential candidates, according to the Times. The former president also mentioned the five politicians as possible cabinet choices if he chose another candidate as No. 2.
People close to Trump who spoke to The Times said the ex-president is not tied to any particular figure and may consider other Republicans as the final decision approaches.
Of the candidates on Trump’s radar, all have been reliable foot soldiers of the former president’s conservative views. And Trump — embroiled in myriad legal issues — is seeking to recruit a highly regarded candidate who won’t create major controversies for his campaign, the Times reported.
Burgum briefly ran for president against Trump last year, but suspended his campaign in December and threw his support behind the ex-president shortly before the Iowa caucuses. Rubio upset Trump in the 2016 Republican primaries, but has since overwhelmingly supported the former president.
Cotton and Scott were strong legislative allies of Trump during his first administration, and Vance became one of the former president’s leading “America First” supporters in the Senate.
When Cotton – who was first elected to the Senate in 2014 – was asked last week about being part of a possible second Trump administration, he said he had primarily spoken with the former president strategies to win in November.
“I suspect only Donald Trump knows who is actually on his shortlist,” Cotton told Fox News. “When we speak, we talk about what it will take to win this election…elect President Trump to another term in the White House and elect a Republican Congress.”
Although Cotton’s choice would be a huge hit with conservatives, it’s unclear whether he would be able to help Trump with suburban voters — a weak demographic for the former president — especially given of the senator’s strong anti-abortion views.
businessinsider
