WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s first choice for running mate in 2016 wasn’t Mike Pence, but rather his daughter Ivanka, according to a forthcoming book by Trump’s former deputy campaign manager. 

What You Need To Know

  • Former Trump campaign official Rick Gates writes in his new book that Trump wanted his daughter, Ivanka, to be his vice presidential pick in 2016

  • Trump was so adamant about the idea that his campaign twice conducted polling on the possibility, Gates writes

  • Ivanka Trump shut down the idea, telling her father she didn't think it was a good idea, the book says

  • President Trump denied that he had considered his daughter for the post

In “Wicked Game: An Insider’s Story on How Trump Won, Mueller Failed, and America Lost,” Rick Gates, according to multiple reports, writes that Trump repeatedly brought up the idea of Ivanka being his pick for vice president and tried to sell his campaign staff on it.

“I think it should be Ivanka. What about Ivanka as my VP?” Trump asked at a campaign meeting, according to the book, which is set to be released Oct. 13.

“All heads turned toward her, and she just looked surprised. We all knew Trump well enough to keep our mouths shut and not laugh,” Gates writes. “He went on: ‘She’s bright, she’s smart, she’s beautiful, and the people would love her!”

Trump was so adamant about the idea and so unimpressed with the other VP options being mentioned — including Pence — that his team conducted polling on the possibility twice, Gates writes.

Ivanka was the one who ultimately shut it down, telling her father she didn’t think it was a good idea, according to Gates.

At the time, Ivanka, then 34, was a fashion and real estate executive with no political experience. She has since served as an adviser to Trump in the White House. 

Trump later warmed up to the idea of Pence after the then-Indiana governor delivered a “vicious and extended monologue” about Bill and Hillary Clinton at an event that summer, Gates writes.

Late Monday night, Trump denied the report. Seemingly unaware that the story originated from one of his former top campaign advisers, he blamed the media for spreading false information.

"Now Fake News @CNN is actually reporting that I wanted my daughter, Ivanka, to run with me as my Vice President in 2016 Election," the persident tweeted. "Wrong and totally ridiculous. These people are sick!"

Gates told The Washington Post he included the anecdote in the book as an example of Trump’s unconventional thinking, which the former campaign official believes makes him appealing to many Americans. The book is a defense of the president and those who helped elect him.

In February 2018, Gates pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States for lying to federal investigators about lobbying work he and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort had done in Ukraine before joining the campaign. Gates was sentenced to 45 days in prison, which he was allowed to serve on weekends before being placed into home confinement due to the coronavirus pandemic.

His conviction came out of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the election. After pleading guilty, Gates became a key cooperating witness in the probe and testified at the trials of Manafort and Trump confidante Roger Stone, both of whom were convicted.

Gates is highly critical of the Mueller investigation in the book.