Utah Rep. Mia Love and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton might be possible vice presidential picks for Donald Trump, a former aide to the presumptive Republican nominee said in a radio interview.
"The two people I think you should look at — and these are unorthodox," Michael Caputo, who quit the Trump campaign on Monday, said Thursday in response to a question by
Fox News Radio host Brian Kilmeade. "First is Mia Love, the congresswoman, somebody who is an African-American leader with really bright ideas and an ability to communicate."
"Is there a relationship there?" Kilmeade asked.
"There is," Caputo responded. "People are looking at her.
"There is an incredible opportunity for the Republican Party."
In 2014, Love, 40, became the first African American to be elected to Capitol Hill from Utah. The former mayor of Saratoga Springs, she also is the first black female Republican in Congress.
Caputo resigned after poking at Trump's firing of campaign manager of Corey Lewandowski on Twitter.
He prefaced his comments to Kilmeade by saying: "I was never in those discussions. Those were above my pay grade."
Regarding Cotton, who also is in his first term, Caputo described him as "a heck of a guy. His backstory is something.
"As a veteran, here is what I love about Tom Cotton: He graduated from the Ivy League then enlisted in the Army.
"They said we will make you an officer now and he said, 'nope, I want to enlist.'
"That’s the guy you want as your vice president," Caputo said. "They are looking at him."
Cotton, 39, is a graduate of Harvard University and has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He also has been a member of the House of Representatives.
Trump himself said Thursday that Cotton and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were "high on the list" of vice presidential candidates.
"I do have a lot of respect for those two guys,"
the billionaire told radio host Hugh Hewitt.
Caputo told Kilmeade that he did not know whether Trump knew either Love or Cotton, "but I do know their names are being talked about."
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