Megyn Kelly suggested on Wednesday that former President Trump should select an “establishment” Republican like former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to be his running mate in the 2024 presidential election.
During an interview on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports,” Kelly pointed out that Trump is “not that popular” among a significant portion of the Republican base, citing his poor performance in the Indiana GOP presidential primary where he received 78 percent of the vote as the sole remaining candidate. Haley, who had withdrawn from the campaign two months earlier, still garnered 22 percent.
Kelly stated in response to the Indiana primary results: “Well, you may not have heard that Trump is not that popular with a core segment of the Republican Party.”
Although she acknowledged that Trump is unlikely to choose Haley or DeSantis, his primary rivals in 2024, she encouraged the former president to select a vice presidential candidate with a similar appeal.
“He should choose a running mate who will represent that faction of the party, which is not core MAGA, that’s a little bit more establishment,” Kelly advised.
“That’s the reality for most Republicans now,” she continued. “While they would still vote for Trump, most are not core MAGA.”
Kelly stated that Trump “should get a DeSantis type” of candidate, adding, “I realize he is probably not going to pick Haley, but he should get somebody like that for his VP pick.”
The competition to be Trump’s running mate has been intensifying in recent weeks, as Trump has utilized the audition process to unleash a barrage of surrogates defending him and echoing his viewpoints while he remains embroiled in a Manhattan courtroom. been heating up in recent weeks, as Trump has used the audition process to launch an army of surrogates flooding the airwaves to defend him and echo his talking points as he remains tied up in a Manhattan courtroom.
Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee for president, has maintained a growing shortlist of potential vice presidential candidates that includes Sens. Tim Scott (S.C.), Marco Rubio (Fla.) and JD Vance (Ohio); North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders; and Reps. Elise Stefanik (N.Y.) and Byron Donalds (Fla.).
Haley and DeSantis are both absent from the list after a bitter primary battle. Haley did not endorse Trump when she suspended her campaign for president, and DeSantis gave a lukewarm endorsement of the former president.
“It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance,” the governor said in his speech ending his campaign. “While I have had disagreements with Donald Trump such as on the coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of Anthony Fauci, Trump is superior to the current incumbent Joe Biden. That is clear.”
