EXCLUSIVEShark Tank star KEVIN O'LEARY reveals his choice for Trump's VP - and how their vice presidency would be different from every other in history
- Donald Trump will announce his choice for his running mate next month
- READ MORE: Kevin O'Leary explains why so many fast food chains are shutting
Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary has revealed his pick for Donald Trump's vice president, as suspense builds over who will join him on the 2024 ticket.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, the investor hailed North Dakota governor and former businessman Doug Burgum as a potential buffer to the often unpredictable former president.
'If you're an independent and you're thinking that Trump is too crazy, but then you've got Burgum in the package, then you've got some "Trump insurance". That's the way I think they're going to sell it,' he said.
Burgum, 67, recently emerged as one of a handful of leading contenders for the role as the former president's running mate in the election later this year.
The pick will be announced at the Republican National Convention next month, Trump confirmed this week.
Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary has revealed his pick for Donald Trump 's vice president, as suspense builds over who will join him on the 2024 ticket
Burgum had a career in technology and consulting before making his successful first bid for governor of his home state in 2016.
In the 1980s he developed a small startup tech company called Great Plains Software, which he later sold to Microsoft in 2001 for over $1 billion.
He has an estimated net worth of at least $100 million, according to Forbes, although he is a relatively unknown figure and largely untested on the national stage. He launched a presidential campaign in 2024 which received little attention.
Burgum may be a 'dark horse' as a pick for Trump's running mate, but he has 'incredible executional skills because he came from business in the state of North Dakota,' said O'Leary.
'He's so steady and so straight with a real track record. So you get the bombastic Trump and then you get the Burgum Trump insurance. A little Ying and a little Yang.'
If he were to choose Burgum as his running mate, O'Leary suggested it would be the first time that the vice president is being advertised as someone who is going to implement policy.
'Usually nobody cares about the vice president in terms of how it affects policy,' he added.
'But what is unique to this election is that it is becoming important because of the longevity issues around both these presidential candidates.'
Kevin O'Leary has hailed vice president hopeful Doug Burgum (pictured) as 'Trump insurance'
For O'Leary, the number one issue for the American people is inflation.
'Then energy security is up there and border security is up there. That's another thing with Burgum, Trump could ask him to fix these issues and he could actually go execute it and figure it out.'
When it comes to energy, O'Leary argues that Burgum has a strong track record in his home state of North Dakota.
'He is the energy governor. He is the guy that turned North Dakota into one of the the wealthiest per capita state in America. There's only around 750,000 people there, but he put energy on the top of the list.
'One of the largest untapped reserves of oil on Earth is sitting in Alaska. How could royalties on that be used to reduce the national debt?
'And that's what people are talking about in Washington: could he be the guy to implement these kinds of policies in the Trump insurance program?'
Last week, Trump narrowed his search for a vice presidential candidate to just seven contenders and begun requesting information from each.
Alongside Burgum, those in the running are Florida's Marco Rubio, Ohio Sen. JD Vance and South Carolina's Tim Scott, according to campaign sources cited by Fox News.
Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, and Trump's 2016 rival-turned cabinet member Ben Carson were also said to be on the list - a set of seven who will vetted after they fill out the forms, two others said.
Burgum may be a 'dark horse' as a pick for Trump's running mate, but he has 'incredible executional skills because he came from business in the state of North Dakota,' said O'Leary (Burgum and Trump at a rally in Las Vegas in February)
The paperwork sent to each reportedly varies, one of the sources said, as reps for each of the rumored candidates did not respond to requests for comment.
Aides, meanwhile, have cautioned that Trump's list is not concrete and ever-evolving - and that, at the end of the day, the decision will ultimately be up to him.
'Anyone claiming to know who or when President Trump will choose his VP is lying,' Trump campaign spokesperson Brian Hughes said in a statement.
He quickly added: 'Unless the person is named Donald J. Trump.'
