Leaked audio reveals Trump discussing his VP picks

New audio recorded at a private lunch reveals Donald Trump’s thoughts about his potential picks for a running mate in the 2024 election.

The audio, obtained by Axios, was recorded during Mr Trump’s high-profile GOP event at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Saturday. Attendees included major Republican donors and his many contenders for vice president. Mr Trump’s top picks for a running mate include several senators, representatives, governors and former presidential candidates.

However, other expected contenders for Mr Trump’s running mate weren’t discussed at all, according to Axios. Entrepreneur and former 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy was not mentioned, according to the Axios report, despite attending the event.

Kristi Noem, governor of South Dakota, got a shout-out at the lunch, according to the leaked audio. This comes as no surprise, given she has long been a predicted running mate for the former president.

“Somebody that I love,” Mr Trump said of Ms Noem. “She’s been with me, a supporter of mine and I’ve been a supporter of hers for a long time.”

The governor is a long-time ally of Mr Trump. In an interview with CNN last month, Ms Noem refused to say whether she would have certified the 2020 election had she been in vice-president Mike Pence’s position.

“I wasn’t in Mike Pence’s shoes, and the information that he had at that time – I don’t know how he based his decisions,” she told CNN.

In 2021, several weeks after the January 6 Capitol riots, Ms Noem also refused to say whether President Joe Biden won the 2020 election freely and fairly. However, there is no evidence of widespread election fraud in 2020, and Mr Biden fairly won the election.

Ms Noem also made recent headlines after revealing in