'I want a fighter': Donald Trump Jr. lobbying dad to pick one of these possible running mates | 23 March 2024 | Donald Trump Jr. is lobbying his father to select a running mate who can take a punch -- and hit back even harder, he told The Post. "What I want in that role is I want a fighter," Trump Jr. said. "I understand what they are going to throw at us. In 2016 you needed someone to balance out [the ticket] -- that's where Mike Pence made sense, sort of the yin and yang, but [given] the vicious nature of the swamp and the insanity we see on a daily basis, you need someone who can take those hits," said Trump Jr., 46. The former first son -- who speaks to his father daily, often several times a day -- said he’s been pushing people like Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio); Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur and former GOP presidential candidate; and Tucker Carlson, a former Fox News host who now hosts a program on X.