Kellyanne Conway listed several names on Sunday that she sees as a potential vice president pick for former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
Trump, the front-runner for his party's 2024 nomination, has continued to gain momentum since winning the Republican caucus in Iowa earlier this month. The former president also won the New Hampshire primary with 54.5 percent of the vote, ahead of second-placed Nikki Haley with 44.7 percent. Meanwhile, speculation over Trump's potential vice president picks has increased, leading to several prominent political figures being thrown in the mix.
However, Trump has given no real indication, beyond offering small heaps of praise to certain people and ruling out any chance he would pick Mike Pence again after the pair's relationship fell apart in the wake of the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
In an interview on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures, Conway, a former White House adviser in the Trump administration, was asked by host Maria Bartiromo who she thinks will be the MAGA leader's running mate.
In response, Conway mentioned a few key names, including Ben Carson, whom Trump nominated as secretary of housing and urban development in 2017, while adding that she thinks Trump should pick a person of color.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump's campaign via email for comment.
"I think he should pick a person of color, " Conway said. "There are many great women in the Republican party for him to choose as well, but he is going to have monster returns electorally among Hispanics, African Americans, and Asian Americans. He has an embarrassment of riches no matter where he goes."
"I also think that, you had a guest on earlier, Ben Carson, has fast becoming a Trump world insider favorite," Conway added. "Very loyal to the president's agenda, won't compete with him, same can be said about Mike Pompeo. President Trump is probably looking at Marco Rubio, Byron Donalds and maybe Wesley Hunt."
She also said that while there are also a number of women whom Trump could pick, the potential vice president should be strong on the issue of abortion, giving praise to both Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Senator J.D Vance of Ohio.
"And of course, there are many great women he can turn to as well," Conway said. "It should also be somebody who is really good on the issue of abortion and that's not most Republicans, but in their debates in 2022 J.D Vance of Ohio, Marco Rubio of Florida did fabulously in those debates. I think it has to be somebody ready on day one."
Debates over abortion laws have spiked across the country after the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, in which the nation's highest court had ruled there is no constitutional right to an abortion, returning the issue to the state level, debates over abortion laws have increased across the country.
Vance and Rubio have both continued to be firm on their stance against abortion.
Newsweek previously took a look at the most likely VP names, according to Oddschecker, which also named Carson as well as South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and New York Representative Elise Stefanik.
Correction 01/29/24 6:05 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Fox News host Maria Bartiromo.
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Natalie Venegas is a Weekend Reporter at Newsweek based in New York. Her focus is reporting on education, social justice ... Read more
