Trump awkwardly says he wouldn’t run with Ivanka: ‘Not my daughter’

Former president is widely thought to be planning 2024 bid

Donald Trump had an awkward answer this week to an interviewer who asked whether he would consider his own daughter as a potential running mate in 2024.

The former president continues to contest his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden even as he teases a rematch against the president in the next election cycle. But he’s made clear that he won’t run alongside his former vice president, Mike Pence, should he make another bid for the White House.

In an interview with New Delhi Television (NDTV), the former president was asked if he would consider his eldest daughter Ivanka Trump as a potential running mate. But Mr Trump shut that suggestion down quickly.

"Ivanka? My daughter? Never thought of that one. I've never even heard but that's an interesting idea," he responded.

Mr Trump then added: "No, I wouldn't. Not my daughter.”

The quick dismissal is odd, given that Mr Trump obviously sees little compunction with having his family members serve alongside him in government — and Ivanka is the only blood relative to actually join his White House team, while sons Donald Jr and Eric took roles on his campaign team.

Ms Trump served as a White House adviser throughout nearly the entirety of her father’s presidency alongside her husband, former senior White House adviser Jared Kushner.

Mr Kushner has attempted to answer for his father-in-law’s ongoing battle with the Justice Department over the retention of classified records at Mar-a-Lago in recent weeks as he hawks copies of his memoir on the media circuit.

"I think that it's something that seems like it's an issue of paperwork that should have been able to be worked out between DOJ and him," Mr Kushner said in a recent interview. "I don't know what he did or what he didn't take, but right now we're relying on leaks to the media."