Ramaswamy, Stefanik early favourites to serve as Trump’s running mate

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The GOP presidential primaries have barely started and Donald Trump is reportedly polling fellow conservatives about potential running mates.

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Vivek Ramaswamy is one to watch, according to Glenn Beck.

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The conservative political commentator said on YouTuber Patrick Bet-David’s PBD Podcast that Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, called him for an opinion on who he should pick as his potential sidekick, according to the Daily Mail.

“I said Vivek,” Beck told the podcast hosts, adding Trump asked for an explanation, to which he retorted: “That’s the No. 1 response from everybody I’ve asked that question.”

Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old pharmaceutical entrepreneur, suspended his campaign for president on Jan. 15 after finishing fourth in the Iowa caucuses behind Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley. He then immediately endorsed Trump, who topped second-place DeSantis by nearly a whopping 30 percentage points.

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DeSantis suspended his campaign and backed Trump as well on Sunday, two days before the start of the New Hampshire primary.

The U.S. election is slated for November.

Beck said that Ramaswamy, who has been stumping for Trump in New Hampshire, would be an “effective surrogate” for the former president as well as a “skilled attack dog and defender of Trump’s record and vision,” the Daily Mail reported.

“He can defend you, he’s right in your pocket,” Beck told the podcasters, according to the Daily Mail, also noting Ramaswamy could carry on Trump’s White House legacy. “Some of his ideas are really, really good … (he) connects with the youth.

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“People are excited about something fresh and different.”

The early betting favourites, however, are South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, House GOP chair Elise Stefanik and Trump’s former housing secretary Ben Carson, according to oddschecker.com. Ramaswamy is fourth, ahead of the likes of Haley, Sen. Tim Scott and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

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“Stefanik is at the top,” Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon told CNBC last week, adding that Trump called her a “killer” during a December dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida.

Added another GOP operative, according to the Daily Mail: “If you’re Trump, you want someone who’s loyal above all else. Particularly because he sees (former vice-president) Mike Pence as having made a fatal sin.”

Beck, however, said Trump didn’t seem to tip his hand on which way he’s leaning, according to the Daily Mail.

“Well, we’ll see,” Beck said of Trump’s response during their conversation.

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