Roger Simon, the co-founder of PJMedia and current columnist for The Epoch Times, said he would like to see former President Donald Trump choose neurosurgeon and former Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson as his running mate in the 2024 presidential election.
Trump’s campaign has reportedly begun requesting information from the former president’s potential vice president candidates.
Those names, according to a report by The Associated Press, include Burgum and Carson, as well as U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), JD Vance (R-OH), and Tim Scott (R-SC), and U.S. Representatives Byron Donalds (R-FL-19) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21).
Simon said that while Trump has a list of “good names,” he should consider choosing a candidate with “gravitas,” as that person may very well have to campaign on Trump’s behalf if the former president is sentenced to prison by Judge Juan Merchan.
“[Trump’s] got some good names. He’s got some good names. I think he should choose someone with gravitas, as they say, because we’re going to need an adult and that adult is going to be out there on [Trump’s] behalf during that period,” Simon explained on Tuesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
Simon also noted the possibility of a tragic event happening to Trump, pointing to the recent attempted assassination of the Slovakia Prime Minister.
“Also, should something happen to [Trump]. It’s very possible. Look what just happened in Slovakia to the president there. This is a time filled with nut cases. So It should be someone who is really a tested individual,” Simon said.
“I lean to Ben Carson because he’s a very steady guy. He’s got a higher IQ than the rest of these idiots and he’s a real adult,” Simon added.
Simon said that Vance and Burgum are also strong candidates to be Trump’s running mate.
“As a young person, JD Vance is pretty impressive…Doug Burgum also gets high marks from me. I met him. Solid guy. Very solid,” Simon said.
Out of Vance, Burgum, and Carson, Simon said he would prefer to see Trump choose Carson as his vice president.
“All of those guys are A-pluses to me…I think [they] are very trustworthy people and I think [Trump] already trusts them to one degree or another,” Simon said.
“I’ve met Carson, too, on several occasions and he’s a real gentleman. He doesn’t play the game of, ‘I’m one of the most important persons on the globe and you’re lucky to shake my hand,’ which you get,” Simon added.
Watch the full interview.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
