Tim Scott Responds to Donald Trump's Hint About VP

Senator Tim Scott was asked by host Brian Kilmeade in an interview on Tuesday morning with Fox News' Fox & Friends about former President Donald Trump's comment over the weekend that he has been "watching" people for his potential running mate in the 2024 election.

Scott, of South Carolina, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem were mentioned by Trump in a taped interview with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures.

"The struggle of self-promotion is challenging, but what we do is focus on what America needs right now. In the moment, the best alternative is four more years of President Donald Trump," Scott told Kilmeade.

Context

Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, has continued to gain momentum since winning the Iowa caucuses last month. The former president also won the New Hampshire primary with 54.5 percent of the vote to Nikki Haley's 44.7 percent. Meanwhile, speculation over Trump's potential vice president picks has increased, leading to several prominent names 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 their relationship fell apart in the wake of the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

What We Know

During a taped Fox News interview released on Sunday and aired on Sunday Morning Futures, host Maria Bartiromo asked Trump: "When will you announce who your VP is?"

"Not for a while. We have so many great people in the Republican Party, but not for a while," he said.

When pressed on who his potential running mate, Trump said, "I speak to everybody. I called Tim Scott this week. A lot of people like Tim Scott. I called him and I said, 'You're a much better candidate for me than you are for yourself.'"

However, when Scott was pressed on Tuesday on whether he was being vetted after being told of Trump's remarks, he said: "No, not that I know of" and urged that the focus should be on Trump winning the election.

Newsweek has reached out to Scott's office and Trump's campaign via email for comment.

Views

In January, Kellyanne Conway, a former White House adviser in the Trump administration, was asked by Bartiromo during an interview on Fox News who she thinks will be the MAGA leader's running mate.

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.

"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."

Thomas Whalen, an American politics expert at Boston University, previously told Newsweek: "[Representative Elise] Stefanik and Scott make the most sense because they could potentially bolster him politically where he is the weakest—among suburban women voters and African-American voters....He's [Scott] already the butt of jokes on SNL Weekend Update for his craven sucking up to Trump. He makes the old Mike Pence seem subtle."

What's Next?

Although Trump has said he won't announce his pick for vice president "for a while," the race for GOP nomination still continues as Haley insisted she isn't dropping out of the race. Meanwhile speculation over Trump's pick continues.

Update 2/6/24, 10:15 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.