Donald Trump said on Tuesday that some men might feel “offended” by his Democratic rival Joe Biden’s pledge to choose a woman as his running mate for the November presidential election.
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“He confined himself to a certain group of people,” the US president said in a telephone interview with Fox Sports radio. “Some will say it is an offense against men, and others will say it is OK.”
Joe Biden, who will challenge him at the polls on November 3, pledged at the start of his campaign in the spring to choose a woman as number 2.
He must announce his choice this week.
Only two women in American political history have so far been named running mates: Sarah Palin in 2008 alongside Republican candidate John McCain, and Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 with Democrat Walter Mondale.
None became vice-president.
Donald Trump praised in his radio interview on Tuesday the work of his own vice-president, Mike Pence, while downplaying the importance of the choice of running mate.
“People don’t vote for the running mate, not at all,” he said. “You can choose a George Washington as your running mate. Or Abraham Lincoln, returned from the dead. They just don’t vote for the running mate ”.