Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) has hinted that he is open to being the vice presidential candidate of former President Donald Trump, though he conceded that such a decision would be “up to the president.”
Donalds had launched a run for House speaker earlier this month, with the position eventually being won by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), whom Donalds said would do “a tremendous job.” While appearing on Sunday Morning Futures, Donalds was asked if his speakership loss could open up other political avenues to explore, including being Trump’s vice presidential candidate in 2024.
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“With respect to being potentially on the ticket, that’s really up to the president,” Donalds said. “I have no control over that. The only thing I’ll say is I just want to do whatever I can to get our country on track. That’s what I’ve always been committed to. So, no matter what the role is, it’s about getting our country back on track.
The Florida congressman was also asked how he would assess Trump’s support from the black community going into 2024. Donalds, who is black himself, said that it is “growing” and that the nation’s “struggling” economy is impacting “every segment of America.”
“More and more black Americans say ‘we got to have Trump back,'” Donalds said.
Trump was asked last month about who he would select as his vice presidential candidate, to which he said he is focused on winning the primary election and prefers “not to think too much” about who his vice president will be. The former president did say that he likes “the concept” of selecting a woman as his vice president, adding that South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) is “fantastic” and has been “a great governor.”
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Trump is still leading the Republican Party’s 2024 primary race ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, and business entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. On Saturday, former Vice President Mike Pence announced that he was suspending his presidential campaign.
Trump’s lead in the Republican primary sets the stage for a potential rematch between him and President Joe Biden, with the latter announcing his reelection campaign earlier this year. Both candidates will need to contend with Robert Kennedy Jr. running as an independent presidential candidate, though a recent poll found that RFK Jr. would take more votes away from Trump than Biden.
