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Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz said former Republican President Donald Trump's pick for Vice President could end up being a key factor in the 2024 presidential race. Gaetz suggested Trump should run with a woman to get votes from the women who don't like him.
Theorizing Trump only won in 2016 because women who didn't like him still voted for him, Gaetz said Trump should pick either one of two prominent Republican women—Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders or South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem—to be his running mate in 2024.
Speaking on the far-right show Timcast, Gaetz said Trump needs "to create a permission structure where women who do not like you vote for [him] again."
You can hear what Gaetz said in the video below.
\u201cMatt Gaetz says he told Trump that he has to do something to convince women who don\u2019t like him as a person to vote for him anyway, and one way to do that is to choose Sarah Huckabee Sanders or Kristi Noem as his running mate.\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1673797472
Gaetz said:
"What I've said to President Trump is like, 'You have to create a permission structure where women who do not like you vote for you again.'"
"You see the grit of a Sarah Huckabee Sanders, you see the directness, the efficacy, really bold steps her first days as governor banning TikTok on a lot of the government devices there. She's the kind of person I'd look at."
"Krisi Noem I think would be a pretty stellar pick."
Both Noem and Sanders have been favorites in far-right circles for some time.
Conservatives have largely celebrated their actions while leading their respective states.
Noem, who this week said she’s “not convinced” she needs to run for the White House even though her name is being floated for 2024, has long supported Trump's policies and actively resisted government intervention to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
Indeed, Noem became a darling on the right for not implementing face mask mandates, raising doubts about the efficacy of mask-wearing, encouraging large gatherings without social distancing or mask-wearing, and questioning the advice of public health experts.
Sanders, who served as Trump's White House Press Secretary for nearly two years and was sworn in as Arkansas' governor earlier this month, has already made headlines for emboldening the right's "anti-woke" agenda by banning the gender-neutral term "Latinx" from official use in the state government, prohibiting Arkansas schools from teaching critical race theory.
Still, she avoided endorsing Trump directly in an interview on Fox News on January 15, telling the network that while she enjoys "a great relationship" with Trump, "right now [her] focus isn't 2024."
Many have criticized Gaetz and pushed back against his suggestions.
\u201cSorry, no running mate he picks would convince me to vote for him. I made that mistake once. NEVER AGAIN TRUMP.\u201d— madeafan (@madeafan) 1673920538
\u201cLike women are gonna be fooled by another woman telling them \u201cdon\u2019t worry, he\u2019s not that bad.\u201d\u201d— Melissa Westbrook (@Melissa Westbrook) 1673884746
\u201cYou wouldn\u2019t want Gaetz as your campaign manager.\u201d— flipper (@flipper) 1673827612
\u201c"Thank you for playing - should we, or should we not, follow the advice of the galactically stupid?!"\u201d— Jerry Bohl, Jr. (@Jerry Bohl, Jr.) 1673845679
\u201cLike Matt Gaetz knows what women of voting age want. He\u2019s never cared before.\u201d— timeburns (@timeburns) 1673878341
\u201c\u2026as if women who \u201cdon\u2019t like\u201d Trump would like Sanders and/or Noem any better. \ud83d\ude44\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\udc47\u201d— Little Black Dress,Just tryin' to stay alive in FL (@Little Black Dress,Just tryin' to stay alive in FL) 1673821761
\u201cOhh that will surely do the trick, right ladies? Surely you all relate to these fine American women...\u201d— Jack Ryan \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Jack Ryan \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1673822231
\u201cWe don\u2019t like those women either! Or you Gaetz!\u201d— Linda Elman (@Linda Elman) 1673822724
\u201cOh. My. God. Sanders? Noem? Truly unaware of what the public, especially women, want as leaders. \ud83e\udd26\ud83c\udffc\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\ud83e\udd2c\u201d— Judy Gobeille (@Judy Gobeille) 1673847119
Although Trump announced a presidential run shortly after November's midterm elections, his campaign is rather inactive given his failure to court many members of the Republican Party who have turned away from him after the midterms did not result in the "red wave" GOP legislators and pollsters had predicted.
Trump is also mired in legal troubles and faces mounting scrutiny over his misuse of classified documents as well as his actions on January 6, 2021, the day a mob of his supporters attacked the nation's seat of government on the false premise the 2020 general had been stolen.
Compounding this, the House Ways of Means Committee released his tax returns in the last days of the Democratic-led Congress and the House Select Committee tasked with investigating January 6 released its final report, which held Trump responsible for the attack to subvert the 2020 election results and backed criminal charges against him.