A forthcoming book about Donald Trump's re-election claims the president-elect had to be talked out of tapping a Fox Business news anchor as his running mate, CNN reported.
Politico reporter Alex Isenstadt wrote in "Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power" that Maria Bartiromo was a "Trump favorite," partly for the "numerous softball interviews with him over the years, including his first on-air sit-down following the 2020 election, for which she had given his team a heads-up on her questions ahead of time," according to an exclusive excerpt obtained by CNN.
Isenstadt added Trump "was dead serious about Bartiromo and was making the case for her during the flight to Butler (Pennsylvania). She was great with the big-donor Wall Street types and she knew how to do TV, Trump told his team."
However, in response, Trump's team said there "was no time to vet Bartiromo, as they had spent months doing with other candidates," CNN reported.
Ultimately, the president-elect's chief of staff Susie Wiles convinced Trump to pass over Bartiromo, according to Isenstadt.
Incoming White House communications director Steven Cheung did not respond directly to Isenstadt's claims about Bartiromo as Trump's potential VP pick, but said in a statement to CNN: "Vice President-elect Vance was the perfect choice to be President Trump's running mate. There is nobody who is a better and stronger defender of the America First agenda, and he will continue to be a leader of the movement for years to come."
To complete his book, Isenstadt conducted more than 300 interviews and pored over internal memos, notes and recordings. He also took took regular reporting trips to Palm Beach, CNN reported, including a flight with Trump in June 2023.
"Revenge" will be available for purchase in March.
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