Politics - News Analysis

REPORT: Trump Repeatedly Pushed for Ivanka to Be His Running Mate in 2016

Well, this is different and entirely “on brand.”

According to Bloomberg, Trump reportedly insisted upon having Ivanka on the ticket in the 2016 presidential election as VP.

The revelation comes from former Trump campaign deputy director and convicted felon Rick Gates in his upcoming book on the 2016 campaign. In one of the meetings with top campaign staff, including both Ivanka and Jared, Trump floated the idea of having Ivanka run as his VP candidate. Because, of course, that’s a good idea and, of course, that’s how normal people think.

None of this makes sense until one remembers that in the midst of the 2016 race, he had no intention of becoming president, he merely wanted to run and raise some money.

“During a VP discussion that included Jared and the other kids all assembled in one room, Trump said, ‘I think it should be Ivanka. What about Ivanka as my VP?’” Gates reportedly wrote. “All heads turned toward her, and she just looked surprised. We all knew Trump well enough to keep our mouths shut and not laugh.”

Trump reportedly insisted that voters would “love” Ivanka.

That does sound like something he would insist upon. It seems inconceivable that everyone kept their mouths shut and suppressed the laughter bubbling up.

“She’s bright, she’s smart, she’s beautiful, and the people would love her!”’ he said during the meeting, according to Gates.

Believe it or not, that’s not exactly the criteria most voters use in voting for a president or vice-president.

Apparently, Trump brought up the idea so many times that campaign manager Paul Manafort polled voters on it twice, to prove Trump wrong. She didn’t poll “that high,” but Manafort admitted that she polled higher than anyone anticipated. It says more about the MAGA heads than Ivanka or Trump.

And after campaign aides presented him with several potential candidates for running-mate, including now-Vice President Mike Pence, Trump reportedly told the staffers “Look, I don’t like any of these people” and “I think it should be Ivanka.”

As you might guess, only Ivanka could talk Trump out of it. She finally had to go to him and say that it was a horrible idea and that he needed to put it behind him. Only then did he agree to move on to another candidate.

Somehow this man got elected.

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Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @JasonMiciak

meet the author

Jason Miciak is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is originally from Canada but grew up in the Pacific Northwest. He now enjoys life as a single dad raising a ridiculously-loved young girl on the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He is very much the dreamy mystic, a day without learning is a day not lived. He is passionate about his flower pots and studies philosophical science, religion, and non-mathematical principles of theoretical physics. Dogs, pizza, and love are proof that God exists. "Above all else, love one another."

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