Politics

Jeb Bush On Picking A VP: ‘I Think She Will Be A Great Partner’ [VIDEO]

Alex Pappas Political Reporter
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Jeb Bush may have accidentally let it slip during a town hall meeting Tuesday that he would like to select a female running mate if he becomes the Republican nominee for president.

Asked by an audience member in Waterloo, Iowa, about his views on the role of the vice president, the former Florida governor discussed how Ronald Reagan and his father, George H.W. Bush, had a president-vice president “relationship built on mutual respect and trust.”

“That kind of relationship I think is really important,” Bush said. “And should I be elected president, I would have my vice president — I think she will be a great partner.”

Immediately realizing he had used a female pronoun, Bush said to laughter: “I mean, did I say that out loud?”

He then backtracked: “We always talk about this with one gender in mind. I think we’ve reached the point I think in our country where maybe we should be a little less gender specific about this. He or she should be an integral part of the team. And frankly, the one important element of selecting a vice president candidate is whether he or she is qualified to be president. Everything else is secondary.”

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