Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has steered clear of a man who had been rumored to be a leading contender for former President Donald Trump’s running mate, urging the president to back another candidate, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R-Virginia).
As the Republican National Convention approaches, the former president has signaled his intention to nominate a running mate, narrowing the field to Republican Sens. J.D. Vance (Ohio) and Marco Rubio (Fla.) and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (R-North Dakota, although Trump recently floated Sen. Tim Scott (R-Lausanne, N.D.) as a possible candidate. But sources suggest an announcement could come before the convention.
“Rubio would be great. Tim Scott would be great,” McCarthy said. Panel Interview Speaking on “Real Time with Bill Maher” Friday night, he said: “If you really want to win the election, elect Youngkin in Virginia. If you put Youngkin on the ballot, the race is over.”
Maher echoed McCarthy’s comments, asking how choosing Youngkin over other rumored vice presidential candidates would help Trump defeat President Biden in November’s election.
“If you look at the current polls, we can say that Trump is winning Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, which means he has 267 votes,” he said. “Trump has to win Michigan, Wisconsin or Pennsylvania. He has to win one of those three states.”
The former congressman, who resigned from the House after being ousted from his House leadership position in a historic vote earlier this year, said Youngkin is “popular” in Virginia and could help a strong Republican candidate win in the state. The Old Dominion state, which has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 2004, boasts 13 electoral votes.
The governor also attended President Trump’s recent rally in the state, marking the first time the two were seen in public together.
The former president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., has been pushing for Vance to be the nominee, while other members of the party are strongly backing either Rubio or Burgum.
Trump has been cautious about who he will choose, sometimes saying he has already made up his mind and other times saying he is still considering his options.
“I have some really great candidates, and, you know, I might be leaning in a certain direction, but it changes from time to time,” Trump said in a radio interview on Friday. “All of a sudden I might find something I like or I don’t like and I might lean a little bit in a different direction.”
McCarthy joked that the search was “like The Apprentice”, repeating a phrase Trump used during the interview.
But the former congressman added, “He’s going to keep people guessing who it is.”
Youngkin, who was endorsed by President Trump, won the 2021 gubernatorial election, recapturing the seat after eight years in which Democrats had held the governor’s office.
