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Trump wanted Ivanka to be his running mate in 2016, claims book as Internet says it's 'simply grotesque'

He was serious about his eldest daughter becoming the vice presidential candidate and even carried out poll-testing to gauge her chances

A new book by President Donald Trump's former campaign deputy Rick Gates has claimed he wanted to name his daughter Ivanka as his running mate in 2016. “I think it should be Ivanka,” Trump is quoted as saying in 'Wicked Game: An Insider’s Story on How Trump Won, Mueller Failed, and America Lost', which is set to hit the shelves on October 13. “What about Ivanka as my VP?”

This comes as Ivanka is named in a report by The New York Times on her father's taxes, which alleges she received “consulting fees” that helped reduce the family tax bill. Ivanka, who is a senior White House adviser with husband Jared Kushner, is widely thought to have political ambitions of her own despite not having served in any elected office to date.

According to Gates, the then future president was serious about his eldest daughter, 34, becoming the vice presidential candidate and even carried out poll-testing to gauge her chances.

“All heads turned toward her, and she just looked surprised,” Gates reportedly writes of when Trump first raised the idea to his aides. “We all knew Trump well enough to keep our mouths shut and not laugh. He went on: ‘She’s bright, she’s smart, she’s beautiful, and the people would love her!'" But Ivanka turned down her father's offer, telling him it wasn't a good idea. According to Gates, Mike Pence — then governor of Indiana — eventually secured the nomination after he delivered a “vicious and extended monologue” about Trump’s 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton.

Speaking to the Washington Post, Gates pointed out he wasn't sure Trump would have gone through with picking his daughter. It's worth noting that Gates was indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller during his probe into possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. In December 2019, he was sentenced to three years probation and intermittent confinement for tax and lobbying offenses that he allegedly committed with Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chair who was sent to jail. However, the Post reported that Gates had remained loyal to his former boss. “Unlike a number of other memoirs by former Trump staffers, Gates’ book serves not as a tell-all, but rather a defense of the president and how he and others helped elect him," it wrote.

Nonetheless, many Twitter users lashed out at Trump for even considering his daughter to be his running mate. "Trump wanted to pick Kremlin Barbie Ivanka as his VP and was so taken with the concept — and so cool to other options, including eventual selection, then-Indiana Gov Mike Pence — that his team polled the idea twice.  #NepotismBarbie #TrumpCrimeFamily," Dr Dena Grayson tweeted. "Too bad Ivanka ended the conversation. Perhaps more folks would have seen Trump from who he really was & Clinton would have gotten the electoral majority also," one user wrote.

"Donald Trump wanting to name Ivanka as his running mate in 2016 is just insane enough to be totally believable. Especially if you think that the 2016 campaign was a massive branding exercise to increase the value of the Trump name," another added. "OMG #Trump wanted to make #Ivanka Vice President! Had later pushed for her to become head of the World Bank and US Ambassador to the United Nations. Simply grotesque!" lawyer Sandra Navidi chimed in.