Donald Trump said yesterday, Wednesday, that he knows who he wants to be his running mate in the 2024 presidential election and that his commitment to the NATO alliance will depend on how the Europeans behave in the United States.

The front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, Trump was asked by the Fox News anchors who he was considering as a running mate on his ballot. The question was asked during a rally of supporters in Des Moines, Iowa that included a question-and-answer session with the candidate and was televised by Fox News.

“I can’t really tell you. I mean, I know who it’s going to be,” Trump told the crowd five days before this Midwestern state becomes the first in the country to hold a GOP presidential primary.

He was then asked if he would be open to mending his relationship with any of his rivals in the race, to which he replied: “Oh, of course I will.”

Speculation about his running mate had centered in part on Elise Stefanik, a Trump ally and the fourth-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, and Nikki Haley, his nomination rival who had served as UN ambassador in 2017-18 while he was president. Trump.

The attitude towards NATO

Trump was asked about his stance on NATO – a question that came after it was revealed on Wednesday that Trump had told top European officials when he was president that the United States would never help Europe if it was attacked. .

“It depends on whether they treat us right,” Trump said when asked by the Fox hosts about his commitment to the NATO alliance. “Look, NATO took advantage of our country. European countries benefited.”

During his first term as president from 2017 to 2021, Trump repeatedly clashed with traditional allies over trade and defense spending.

Trump’s rally, which he held as his nomination rivals Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis held their televised debate, came hours after former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie , put an end to his own candidacy for the anointing.

Christie had focused his campaign on scathing criticisms of Trump’s policies and character, and Trump was asked if he would consider making him a vice-presidential candidate.

“I don’t see it,” he replied. “That would be a coup, Christie for vice president.”

Trump maintains a significant lead

Trump maintains a significant lead in the race for the GOP nomination against President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election, according to a nationwide Reuters/Ipsos poll that ended yesterday, Tuesday. That poll gave him 49%, ahead of Haley, who was at 12%, and Desandes, at 11%.

Trump said he was not concerned that Christie’s New Hampshire voters — estimated at 12 percent by poll aggregator RealClearPolitics — might swing to Haley, who is at 29 percent. Trump comes in first in this state with 43%.

Christie’s voter base is heavily concentrated in New Hampshire, the northeastern US state that holds the second Republican primary on Jan. 23, after Iowa, which votes on Monday.

“I wouldn’t say I’m worried about it,” Trump said. “I love people. They love me too, I believe.”

Trump pointed out that they heard Christie predict yesterday that Haley will “drop out” of the race and that she is “not up to the job” of the presidency, adding that he agreed with Christie.

“I know her very well and I happen to think that Chris Christie is right. It’s actually one of the few things he’s right about,” he said.

In their televised debate, Desandes and Haley sought to present themselves as the clean alternatives to Trump just days before the first votes. But with the former president once again absent from the telethon, the rivals focused their fire on each other rather than on the favorite, Trump.