Getty Lee Zeldin.
Former Republican New York Congressman Lee Zeldin is generating social media buzz as a possible VP choice for former President Donald Trump.
Trump got tongues wagging on January 10 when he revealed in a televised town hall that he has chosen his vice presidential pick. However, Trump, who is still facing a contested primary for the GOP nomination, did not reveal the name. Appearing at the town hall in Iowa with that caucus looming, Trump said, “I know who it’s going to be,” video of the moment shows.
“I can’t tell you that really,” Trump said when asked for the name. Asked for a “hint,” Trump said, “We’ll do another show sometime.” Asked if he was willing to mend fences with his other Republican primary voters, Trump said he would and then joked that he is “already starting to like Christie better,” referring to news that former New Jersey Governor and constant Trump critic Chris Christie was dropping out of the race. Trump said, “I don’t see it,” when asked if he would consider Christie for vice president. Beyond that, he offered no specifics.
🚨 TRUMP ON HIS VP PICK: “I can’t tell you that… I mean I know who it’s going to be”
Although a series of other names are being mentioned too, Zeldin, a staunch Trump supporter throughout the former president’s controversies, is a person who is making some people’s lists on X.
“Absolutely Trump can win. The indictments made him stronger,” Zeldin told The New York Post last fall, indicating he believes border security is the most important issue.
Here’s what you need to know:
Reaction to Lee Zeldin as Trump’s VP Pick Received Mixed Reaction on Social Media
REPORT: Lee Zeldin is on the shortlist as a potential VP to President Trump.
How would you feel about that?
One X user asked commenters what they would think of a Zeldin pick. Reaction was mixed.
“No. Need someone who can carry a swing state,” wrote one person. But another person countered, “He’d be good. Very smart, logical.”
However, some people felt Zeldin would be an interesting choice because he could possibly help Trump put reliably blue New York in play, which the former president would be eager to do since he built his business empire there and has faced prosecutions brought by Democratic politicians.
An X poll asking people whether Zeldin would be a good pick had overwhelmingly favorable response.
Amid rumors that Trump might pick NY Congressman Lee Zeldin as his VP, would you approve of this pick? (Relative to other names floated so far)
However, other people merely put Zeldin on a long list of possibilities, including South Carolina Governor Kristi Noem; Dr. Ben Carson; Trump’s GOP primary opponent Vivek Ramaswamy; former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake; and U.S. Representative Byron Donalds of Florida.
The people I like & thought President Trump would pick for his VP are (in no particular order):
1. Dr. Ben Carson
2. Byron Donalds
3. Kari Lake
4. Kristi Noem
5. Vivek Ramaswamy
6. Lee Zeldin
#PresidentTrump #TrumpsVP #VP
Others getting mentioned include Congresswomen Nancy Mace and Elise Stefanik, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Senator Tim Scott, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, and conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson.
Lee Zeldin Ran as a Republican for Governor of New York, Served in the U.S. Military & Is an Attorney
Lee Zeldin has consistently put his loyalty to Donald Trump over New Yorkers and our democracy. On November 8th, we are going to reject his extremism.
Watch our new TV ad 📺⬇️
When Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul faced an election battle against Zeldin, she shared a campaign video that emphasized his close ties to Trump. According to Ballotpedia, he was the Republican nominee for governor in 2022 but lost to Hochul.
According to The New York Times, Hochul won with 53.2% of the vote to Zeldin’s 46.8%. However, The New York Post reported that the race made Zeldin a “star in the GOP” because he “ran a strong campaign for governor,” and carried “key suburban battleground areas in Long Island and the Hudson Valley that helped Republicans win congressional seats to secure the House majority.”
The New York Times reported that Zeldin “voted to overturn 2020 election results and blamed Democrats for Jan. 6 violence.”
According to his campaign biography, Zeldin “was born and raised on Long Island. He grew up in Suffolk County and graduated from William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach, where his identical twin daughters attend school today. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany and then his law degree from Albany Law School, becoming New York’s youngest attorney at the time at the age of 23.”
In 2014, he was elected to serve as a Congressman from New York, a fuller biography says. He is a military veteran and one of only two Jewish Republicans in Congress, the bio says.
He is married to his wife Diana; they have two teenage daughters, according to the bio. According to Ballotpedia, he left office in 2023. He previously served in the state Senate.
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