Donald Trump's Potential VP Candidates Have Had Their Fair Share Of Controversies

As former President Donald Trump attempts to get back into the White House in 2024, everyone wonders who he will choose as Vice President if elected. Notably, Trump has ruled out his former VP, Mike Pence, as his 2024 running mate. During an interview on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" with Laura Ingraham, Trump presented a list of six new potential VP candidates — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Representative Byron Donalds, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, and former Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard.

When speaking to Ingraham, Trump said that he was looking for individuals he considered to be strong leaders in their own right. After sharing the six names in question, out of which some are candidates no one could have predicted, Trump stated, "They're all good [people,] they're all solid. And I always say, 'I want people with common sense.'" Most of the candidates mentioned have expressed their willingness to serve as Trump's VP if chosen.

Several of Trump's potential VP picks have previously entered the 2024 presidential race before withdrawing, yet they clearly continue to hold significant political influence, which is why it's crucial not to forget their controversial moments. From publicly defending Vladimir Putin's Ukraine attack to claiming 9/11 was an inside job, here are the biggest controversies that have plagued the six people Trump might want next to him if he were to win.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis went from being one of Donald Trump's loudest contenders in the primary race to a potential vice presidential candidate for the former US president. However, his past legislative decisions have been described as controversial and dangerous.

In 2023, DeSantis fervently pursued an anti-left-wing agenda, specifically advocating for the banning of critical race theory from being taught in state colleges. Critical race theory examines race as a social construct and aims to provide insight into American history through the lens of institutionalized racism. During the signing of the controversial bill, DeSantis said, "We're here today because we believe in education, not indoctrination" (via YouTube). That same year, he enacted a law prohibiting transgender minors from accessing gender-affirming care in Florida, including hormone therapy. According to a report by the Williams Institute, a research institute at UCLA Law, more than 16,000 Floridian teenagers identify as transgender.

A year earlier, DeSantis signed another highly controversial bill known as the "Heartbeat Protection Act," which prohibits abortions after 6 weeks in Florida. "[The bill] expands pro-life protections and devotes resources to help young mothers and families," DeSantis shared on X, formerly Twitter, omitting mention of the bill's potential violations of human rights. While DeSantis clearly made a Trump-worthy mark along the way, he isn't interested in Trump's potential VP offer. "People were mentioning me [as a potential vice president]. I am not doing that," DeSantis clarified, as per The New York Post.

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott has emerged as an unexpected figure in Donald Trump's circle of potential vice presidential candidates. Despite currently being the only Black Republican in the United States Senate and only one of 11 Black individuals to ever serve in the upper chamber of the United States Congress, Scott believes America doesn't have a problem with systemic racism. During WMUR's "Conversation with the Candidate," Scott said, "America is not a racist country, period." He explained that, while he believed that instances of racism existed, systemic racism was not a reality in the United States.

He echoed the sentiment in an interview with The New Yorker in 2023 when he simply stated that "America works." However, he also admitted that the only reason he wanted to become a Republican was so he could get rich.

Despite briefly running for president as a Republican candidate, Scott later suspended his campaign. Afterward, he loudly and proudly endorsed Trump, who praised Scott's campaigning efforts during Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" with Laura Ingraham. "I have to say, in a very positive way, Tim Scott, he has been much better for me than he was for himself," Trump remarked. Scott hasn't commented on potentially becoming VP.

If Donald Trump were to win the presidency in 2024, he might pick another entrepreneur as his vice president. Vivek Ramaswamy, known for his work in biotech and authoring "Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam," briefly ran for president as a GOP candidate in 2023 but withdrew from the primary race a year later. Despite generally avoiding controversy in the past, Ramaswamy found himself in hot water during his presidential campaign.

In a 2023 interview with The Atlantic discussing his presidential aspirations, Ramaswamy stirred controversy by appearing to entertain 9/11 conspiracy theories. The businessman-turned-politician said, "I think it is legitimate to say how many police, how many federal agents, were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers," adding, "I have no reason to think it was anything other than zero. But if we're doing a comprehensive assessment of what happened on 9/11 — we have a 9/11 commission — absolutely, that should be an answer the public knows the answer to."

Ramaswamy later claimed that he was misquoted on purpose during a conversation with CNN's Kaitlan Collins (via X), to which The Atlantic responded by releasing the audio of the interview, proving the quote was indeed correct. Ramaswamy reiterated his 9/11 statement during an interview with BlazeTV (as per X), where he suggested that people shouldn't believe everything that the government says, despite seeking a role within that same government. Given his loud endorsement of Trump, it's probable Ramaswamy would be open to assuming the role of his VP.

Byron Donalds is a rising political figure who seemingly unexpectedly found himself on Donald Trump's list of potential vice presidential candidates. When asked about the prospect by Spectrum News, Donalds responded, "Man, it's cool. It's kinda surreal." However, the Florida Republican Representative has a troubled past that might hinder his political ambitions.

In 1997, Donalds was arrested for marijuana distribution, though he did not face legal charges at the time as his case was ultimately dismissed as part of a pre-trial diversion program. In a 2014 interview with Fox 4 News, Donalds clarified that he was apprehended for possession, not distribution, of the illicit substance. However, in 2000, he faced trouble again, this time for accepting a bribe. During the interview with Fox 4 News, Donalds explained, "Fifteen years ago, I came in contact with a girl. She offered me $1,000 for my debit card and my PIN number," and added, "I never got the thousand dollars, but I had to make restitution to the bank in excess of $7,000." He also noted that the felony there wasn't bribe-receiving but theft.

Notably, a former colleague of Donalds filed a complaint with the Florida Ethics Commission in 2020, alleging that he purposefully concealed his criminal record when applying for two different board positions and a securities license. The complaint was dismissed a few months later due to a lack of compelling evidence.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is among the two female figures considered for Donald Trump's list of potential vice presidential candidates, but her controversial connection to the former POTUS is raising eyebrows.

Noem, who has been married since 1992 and is a mother of three, is known for her tradition-based values. On her official website, she quoted former President Ronald Reagan on the importance of family union yet still found herself embroiled in a cheating scandal. In 2023, speculation arose alleging Noem had been involved in a long-standing affair with Trump's former advisor and campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski (who is also married and has four children of his own). Although the story first surfaced in 2021, it didn't gain as much traction as it did two years later. Noem has consistently denied the affair, despite eyewitnesses claiming that the two were visibly comfortable with each other on multiple occasions, as detailed in a Daily Mail report.

The alleged affair wasn't Noem's only public controversy. In 2022, the governor was reported to have committed a violation when she intervened in her daughter's 2020 application to obtain a real estate appraiser license. After it was moved to be denied, Noem asked to speak to the individual who was responsible for passing the application and her boss, with Noem's daughter also present. Any potential reprimands towards Noem remain unclear. Before Trump's VP shortlist announcement, Noem told NBC News that she would be open to considering the opportunity.

Tulsi Gabbard is another eyebrow-raising choice for a potential vice presidential candidate if Donald Trump were to win the 2024 election, as she faced a similar array of controversies as her potential counterparts.

In 2016, Gabbard was one of Bernie Sanders' most outspoken supporters in the political arena. Four years later, she entered the 2020 presidential race as a Democratic candidate. However, the former Hawaii congresswoman has always been open to the Republican side of the story. In 2022, she ultimately left the Democratic Party, calling it elitist and cowardly on her X account. Other than her dramatic exit, Gabbard has long sympathized with a number of controversial figures, including Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, with whom she had a secret meeting in 2017, and Vladimir Putin, Russia's authoritarian leader.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Gabbard took to X to state that the war "could have easily been avoided" had President Joe Biden and NATO taken Russia's safety concerns into consideration, seemingly suggesting Putin's innocence. Furthermore, Russian state television used Gabbard's Fox News interview with Tucker Carlson to promote Putin's propaganda. Despite publicly defending a president whom many consider to be a dictator, Gabbard thinks that the American Democrats are the real democracy-killers, as she shared during her speech at the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference. When speaking to Fox News about the VP opportunity, Gabbard said that she "would be honored to serve in such a capacity."