Donald Trump: I like the idea of a female running mate

Donald Trump says he will consider the governor of South Dakota as his running mate for the election, describing her as a ‘warrior for American values’.

Former US president and 2024 Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump and South Dakota governor Kristi Noem speak on stage. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump has said he likes the idea of having a female running-mate for the election next year and will consider the governor of South Dakota, who has appeared on stage with him.

His remarks in a television interview on Sunday put fresh attention on Kristi Noem, whom Trump has described as a “warrior for American values”.

They followed reports late last week that Noem, a married mother of three, was having an affair with Corey Lewandowski, 49, Trump’s long-time adviser.

A representative for Noem, 51, has dismissed the stories in the New York Post and Mail Online, describing them as a “predictable” attack on the governor after she supported Trump in a rally at Rapid City, South Dakota.

Noem’s allies cast her appearance beside Trump as an audition, showcasing the image of a potential Republican presidential ticket. Behind the stage, some supporters held “Trump-Noem 2024” signs. The Rapid City Journal said the governor teased the crowd with the idea. The newspaper reported that she said people had asked if Trump would name her, pausing before adding ”. . . the most popular and favourite governor”.

South Dakota governor Kristi Noem. Picture: AFP

Trump’s team has deferred questions about his potential running-mate until after he has secured the nomination. Asked in a lengthy interview on the Sunday NBC show Meet the Press if he was leaning towards selecting a woman, he said: “I like the concept but we’re going to pick the best person. But I do like the concept, yes.”

He said Noem had been “a great governor” and “she gave me a very full-throated endorsement, a beautiful endorsement actually”. He added: “And you know, [South Dakota has] been a very good state for me. And certainly she’d be one of the people I’d consider, or for something else maybe.”

Trump appeared with Noem before Mount Rushmore during his 2020 campaign, when she gave him a replica of the mountain in which his face was carved, beside those of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt.

After he lost the election, Noem was regarded as a potential candidate to lead the Republican Party. She told The New York Times last year that Trump did not offer her party “the best chance” to recapture the White House. But she appears to have changed her mind.

Asked last month if she would join the contest, she told Fox News no one could win “as long as Trump’s in the race . . . So why run if you can’t win?” She said in an interview with Newsmax, the cable news and digital media site, that she would agree to be his running-mate “in a heartbeat”.

Claims that Noem was having an affair with Lewandowski were published in the New York Post at the weekend. The newspaper said her husband, Bryon, moved out of the governor’s mansion two years ago. Noem has told supporters she expects that rival candidates will spread “ugly, hateful misinformation in an attempt to destroy me and my family because of my opinions”.

Lewandowski, who is also married, has not commented on the allegations.

The Times