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Former Trump administration official Kash Patel revealed on a podcast Monday what advice he gave to President Donald Trump when it comes to choosing his running mate for the 2024 presidential elections.
Patel joined political commentator Tim Pool’s show, “Timcast IRL,” to discuss the upcoming elections and excitement regarding Trump’s running mate choice. Some reports have hinted at a shortlist crafted for the 45th president. The list allegedly includes Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Sen. Tim Scott, R-Sc., Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fl., and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, according to Fox News.
However, Patel told Pool and the show co-hosts that his advice given to Trump was to aim for someone who isn’t going to “slow down” his order as they “audition” for the POTUS position in four years.
“What I told him was, ‘Honestly, sir, I almost don’t care who you pick as long as you don’t pick the following. And what I don’t want is a repeat Mike Pence. What I don’t want is someone who is running your administration for intel, DoD, counter terrorism, and all this stuff to get an order from you to go back into your White House to fight 7,000 people and slow down your order,” Patel stated.
Patel continued, “Don’t pick someone who’s going to be auditioning to be POTUS in four years.’ And there are folks like that out there, there are the Ben Carson types out there that I think you can go to that are maybe a little quieter and not as sexy of a pick.”
The former Trump administration official continued to state that while some had suggested picks like former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who also notably ran for the GOP presidential nominee this year against Trump, Patel immediately turned the idea away.
“So to me, what I told the boss was — I’m sure everyone’s going to be yelling at him for the next two months while he decides. I think he’s already picked who he’s going to pick, that’s just my opinion. But to me it’s more important that he doesn’t pick someone who’s gonna — like people like before Nikki Haley was going sideways they were like, ‘Oh you gotta pick her for VP.’ I was like what the — no, don’t pick her,” Patel stated.
While it is unconfirmed when Trump will officially announce his choice, the 45th president recently teased during a campaign rally that his choice will be revealed around the Republican National Convention (RNC) in July.
“I’ll be picking, but probably not too much before the convention, which I happen to be having in the great state of Wisconsin,” Trump told FOX 6 Milwaukee.
