Trump seriously considered TV news anchor to be his VP before his team revealed a problem, book claims
Donald Trump insisted he appoint the ‘Money Honey’ he saw on TV as his vice president, but then his senior aides rushed to talk him out of the plan, a new book claims.
Veteran business journalist and Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, 57, was nearly selected as Trump’s running mate over JD Vance, the new account claims.
Known for her Wall Street sourcing, and from her days as CNBC’s New York Stock Exchange reporter, where she was known by the affectionate nickname “Money Honey,” Trump thought Bartiromo would make a great vice president, writes Alex Isenstadt of Politico in his upcoming book RevengeCNN first reported.
Trump seriously considered the Fox host, whom he has complimented for years.
According to the book, Trump “was deadly serious about Bartiromo and advocated for her during the flight to Butler, Pennsylvania, before the first attempt on his life.”
“She got along well with the Wall Street types with big donors and she knew how to make TV,” Trump told his team.”
But the president-elect’s staff was concerned because there was “no time to vet Bartiromo as they had done for months with other candidates,” the book says.
This consideration was undermined in mid-July by his dedicated new chief of staff, Susie Wiles, whom he has nicknamed ‘Ice Maiden’.
She reportedly ended the call, and of course, JD Vance was ultimately chosen.
Maria Bartiromo with Donald Trump in a photo posted on February 1, 2024, with the caption: “I just left @realdonaldtrump. I can tell you for sure that he is so tough and so determined…’
Yet Bartiromo was a “Trump favorite,” the book claims.
The couple has enjoyed dinners at Mar-a-Lago and Bartiromo is a staunch defender of his policies on the air.
Steven Cheung, Trump’s new White House communications director, said Vance was the “perfect” choice as running mate for the dominant 2024 election victory.
“Vice President Vance was the perfect choice to become President Trump’s running mate,” Cheung said in a statement.
“There is no one who is a better and stronger defender of the America First agenda, and he will remain a leader of the movement for years to come.”
Maria Bartiromo and husband Jonathan Steinberg with Donald and Melania Trump in a photo posted on December 1, 2024 and captioned: 50 days until #inaugurationday & so honored to see @realdonaldtrump & @melaniatrump
CNBC reporter Maria Bartiromo delivers her final report from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell, Friday, May 14, 2004
According to the book, Trump “was deadly serious about Bartiromo and advocated for her during the flight to Butler, Pennsylvania, before the first attempt on his life.”
JD Vance was of course the successful choice as running mate and helped Trump to victory in the general election
The Revenge segments also claim that a Fox News employee also shared questions with Trump for a town hall with Brett Baier and Martha MacCallum in January.
“About 30 minutes before the town hall was to begin, a senior assistant received text messages from an individual at Fox,” Isenstadt wrote.
“Holy bastard,” the team thought. They were images of all the questions Trump would be asked and the planned follow-up actions, down to the exact wording. Jackpot. It was as if a student got a taste of the test before the exam started.’
According to the book, Trump was probably unhappy with the questions. He considered them “attacks designed to put him on the defensive.”
Fox News stressed in a statement that they had no evidence this had occurred, but have launched an investigation.