Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic U.S. representative from Hawaii, says that she is "open" to becoming former President Donald Trump's running mate in the 2024 general election.
Gabbard said as much on Friday during an appearance on the Fox News Channel's Jesse Watters Primetime, with host Jesse Watters.
During her Fox News appearance, Watters asked Gabbard whether she would be open to becoming Trump's running mate.
“Tulsi, you’re being considered for a VP slot. Is that something you’re open to?” Watters asked.
"I would be open to that," Gabbard said, adding, "My mission is to serve our country. I want to be in a position to solve problems, Jesse, and we’ve got a lot of them to solve."
Trump has confirmed that Gabbard is on his "shortlist" of potential running mates. Trump did so back in February, during the town hall even that he did with Fox News.
The outlet, at the time, reported:
During the program, which ran on Fox News' The Ingraham Angle, Trump was asked about half a dozen potential running mate choices: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, a Democrat turned independent.
Trump confirmed that all of these candidates are on his shortlist. He said, "They are. Honestly, all of those people are good. They're all good. They're all solid."
Speculation about Trump's running mate continues to run wild. This is because, with Trump's dominance in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries, the only question left to ask is whom he is going to choose to be his vice president.
Trump, thus far, has remained fairly tight-lipped.
As stated at the outset, Gabbard is a former Democrat who is now an independent. She parted ways with the Democratic Party because she does not like the direction in which it has gone.
Even Trump supporters have concerns about the former president's ability to win independent and more centrist voters in the general election - something that experts believe Trump will have to do in order to win the 2024 election.
Choosing Gabbard could be a big help here. She could help to attract voters whom Trump might struggle to get if he chooses a running mate who is just like himself.
We'll have to see how this all plays out. But, it is looking as though Gabbard has become a serious contender for Trump's running mate pick.
