Sophia Michaels
One might call Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin a “just in case” candidate.
Page Six hears that the 56-year-old Youngkin has serious White House ambitions — but he also has no interest in going head-to-head with the rampaging Republican favorite Donald Trump in the 2024 White House race.
And while someone in that position might usually just wait another four years to start raising their profile on the national stage, we hear Youngkin is limbering up anyway just in case the 45th president can’t run because of his ever-increasing load of legal woes.
(On Tuesday Trump said that in the coming days, he expects to be indicted for a third time, this time for matter related to the January 6 riots at the Capitol).
Sources tell us that — mindful that Trump has a habit of mercilessly shellacking his Republican rivals, as he has with 2024 opponent, Florida governor Ron DeSantis — Youngkin has shrewdly “got the message to Donald” that he’s making moves on the political circuit only because he’s hoping to be considered as a V.P. pick and not — heaven forbid! — because he wants the chair behind the Resolute Desk himself.
Meanwhile, we’re told that Trump’s former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is hosting a meet-and-greet event for Youngkin — who was the co-CEO of the Carlyle Group until he quit in 2020 to run for governor — at Ross’s Southampton in the coming weeks.
While some people might think that was exactly the kind of thing someone might if they were, say, about to launch a campaign for the highest office in the land, those people would be quite mistaken in this particular case.
“It’s a very smart ruse,” a Beltway type told us, “There’s no doubt that Youngkin wants to be president. But Trump takes up so much space that going up against him is risky.”
But this way Youngkin can have his corn dog at the Iowa State Fair and eat it too.
A representative for Youngkin didn’t return our request for comment.
