Trump Seriously Considered Choosing Fox’s Maria Bartiromo to Be His Running Mate, New Book Says

President-elect Donald Trump considered tapping Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo as his vice-presidential pick for the 2024 election, according to a new book from Politico reporter Alex Isenstadt.

The Republican would go on to select Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) as his running mate, but according to Isenstadt’s upcoming book, titled Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power, Trump was “dead serious” about the idea, even presenting the case to his team.

The book, which draws from over 300 interviews, internal memos, and recordings and is set for release in March, reveals that Trump was reportedly impressed by Bartiromo’s long-standing support and friendly interviews.

Isenstadt wrote that the Fox anchor was a “Trump favorite” for her vocal defense of him, including giving his team a heads-up on her questions ahead of their November 2020 election interview, when she sent text messages to former chief of staff Mark Meadows detailing her interview plans. The texts were later exposed during the congressional probe into the January 6 Capitol riot.

According to the new book, the president-elect was “making the case for her during the flight to Butler (Pennsylvania). She was great with the big-donor Wall Street types and she knew how to do TV, Trump told his team.”

However, his team quickly shot down the idea, citing the lack of time to vet her properly—an exhaustive process they had already completed with other candidates. It was chief of staff Susie Wiles, ultimately, who is alleged to have shut down the conversation.

When asked for comment by CNN, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung declined comment on Bartiromo and instead praised Vance:

Vice President-elect Vance was the perfect choice to be President Trump’s running mate. There is nobody who is a better and stronger defender of the America First agenda, and he will continue to be a leader of the movement for years to come.