A new wannabe contender for Donald Trump's running mate has emerged, but she's got a major obstacle to her goal.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) has drawn attention to herself with frequent appearances on cable news, attention-seeking stunts and brash social media posts, and three South Carolina Republicans told The Daily Beast that she's been floating herself as a vice president pick, but a source close to Trump said he "absolutely hates Nancy Mace," while one of her former aides put it more bluntly.
“I would see Trump pick [Mike] Pence before he picks Mace,” that former staffer said.
Complicating matters further is that Mace doesn't seem to care much for Trump, who's currently the 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner despite four indictments on 91 criminal counts and recent court findings holding him liable for sexual assault and fraud.
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?
“She would absolutely dump on Trump,” said her former aide. “There’s no chance in hell" Trump would choose her.
“She despises him,” the former aide added. “She would call him an idiot and other sorts of words… She is not a friend of Trump, and Trump is not a friend of hers.”
Trump has reportedly been considering a woman as his running mate, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), but sources close to his campaign say Mace doesn't even rate as a long shot candidate.
“None of these so-called sources know what they’re talking about," Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung. "If they spent half the time spreading untrue stories as they do on their mental health, they’d be much happier people.”
ALSO IN THE NEWS: 'America wants me': Jim Jordan infuriated GOPers as he undercut Scalise's speaker bid