During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump wanted to choose his daughter, Ivanka, to be his running mate, according to an upcoming book by Rick Gates, Trump’s former deputy campaign chairman.
“During a VP discussion that included Jared [Kushner] and the other kids all assembled in one room, Trump said, ‘I think it should be Ivanka. What about Ivanka as my VP?’ There was silence,” Gates wrote in “Wicked Game: An Insider’s Story on How Trump Won, Mueller Failed and America Lost,” according to a copy obtained by Bloomberg News.
“All heads turned toward her, and she just looked surprised. We all knew Trump well enough to keep our mouths shut and not laugh,” Gates continued. “He went on: ‘She’s bright, she’s smart, she’s beautiful, and the people would love her!”
Trump was so set on the idea of having Ivanka be his vice president, according to the book, that he had the idea polled twice by his team. But it was Ivanka who told her father that it wasn’t a good idea to choose her as his running mate, Gates said, and Trump eventually chose Mike Pence after he gave a “vicious and extended monologue” about the Clintons at a breakfast later that summer, according to the Washington Post.
“This is not true and there was never any such poll,” Tim Murtaugh, the communications director for the Trump campaign, told TheWrap in a statement.
As Trump’s former campaign aide, Gates — who became a cooperating witness — was sentenced last year to 45 days in jail and three years on probation for conspiracy and lying to the FBI during the Mueller investigation. His book is set to be published on Oct. 13.