@PatriciaMazzei
The chatter among Florida politicians since Donald Trump became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has been less about Trump possibly naming Gov. Rick Scott his running mate and more about another potential pick: Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Bondi's name hasn't made it on the many speculative lists of Trump No. 2's. But if Trump is looking for someone on the ticket to help shore up Florida support, perhaps she should be included.
Consider: Unlike Scott, Bondi endorsed Trump ahead (just barely) of the Florida primary. Unlike Scott, she's obviously comfortable on television. Unlike Scott, she has a years-long personal friendship with Trump.
Scott has the higher office and is much better known (if not very popular). He has also said, as recently as Wednesday night on CNN, that he's not interested in running with Trump.
For his part, Trump has insisted he wants to run with a seasoned politician who can help the celebrity businessman navigate Washington and legislative politics. As an attorney general and former prosecutor, Bondi wouldn't bring any of that experience, though she has had to work with state lawmakers in Tallahassee.
Bondi also seems to have more friends than Trump among Florida's Republican establishment. But she also upset many of those folks when she backed Trump, especially because his foundation had given her political committee a $25,000 donation when she ran for re-election -- and her office later didn't investigate claims against Trump University.
Cue more chatter.
UPDATE: Bondi's Tampa-based political consultant, Adam Goodman, went on Fox News on Thursday suggesting her as a VP choice.
Photo credit: Gerald Herbert, Associated Press
An earlier version of this post misstated the dollar amount of the donation from Trump's foundation to Bondi's campaign.
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