WATCH VIDEO: With Trump expected to name VP today, former US Sen. Santorum expects Rubio, says Vance doesn’t have enough experience

Note: This interview was conducted before the assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday. 

With speculation running rampant ahead of the Republican National Convention this week over who former U.S. President Donald Trump will pick to be his vice presidential nominee, ALL ISRAEL NEWS Editor-in-Chief Joel Rosenberg recently sat down with former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Iowa at The Family Leadership Summit to assess Trump’s options. 

Before turning to a discussion of the possible candidates for a running mate, Rosenberg and Santorum discussed Biden’s chances to be re-elected after his disastrous debate performance last month. 

stated that the American president's self-perception is a significant factor preventing him from stepping down.

“I've battled with him for 12 years, opposed everything he wanted to do on the national security front for 12 years, and he has always been delusional in the sense that his ego is huge and his perception of himself is much grander and greater than any rational person would ever conceive,” Santorum said.

“You have someone who's stubborn, who has the dream that he has always wanted, which is to be the president and he doesn't see himself in reality. I don't see that man going anywhere.” 

Rosenberg stated that Biden's weakness in foreign policy has been dangerous for the United States and its allies, a view that Santorum also shares.

“Russia saw the weakness and acted,” Santorum stated, referring to the nation's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

The former senator said Biden’s failure to take firm action has emboldened America’s enemies. 

“When Biden says, as long as it's a limited invasion we’ll be okay, I mean, wow! Iran moved because they believed Biden would not, as we’ve seen, be able to sustain support for Israel and they would be successful.” 

He warned that the problems would not remain only with America’s allies and friends, but would soon reach the United States, as well. 

“We are inviting people to test America, and that is not a good thing.” 

Regarding Trump’s legal issues and Biden’s disastrous debate performance at the end of June, Santorum said he doesn’t see many defections on either side. 

“It looks like both camps, this tribal atmosphere that we have in this country, are standing by their man, no matter what the situation is, because of the hatred of the other side. And we'll wait and see how that all plays out,” he said. 

Rosenberg asked Santorum, impersonating Trump, “Listen, Rick, I want to ask you who should I pick as my vice presidential nominee? I mean, it should be you, but it's not going to be.” 

Santorum said the vice presidential pick is important because of Trump’s age and as a window into “Trump’s judgment” because of that individual's potential to become the next president. 

The former senator said he doesn’t see J.D. Vance as a valid pick due to his lack of experience. 

Santorum said he thinks Trump’s “safer choices are Rubio and Burgum,” referring to Florida Senator Marco Rubio and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. 

Santorum shared his opinion that Trump likes Burgum for personal reasons, saying, “He’s someone who, like [Mike] Pence, he’s not flashy, he won’t upstage Trump. He will be a good soldier.” 

Santorum also said he doesn’t see someone like Sarah Huckabee Sanders taking on the role either, as she only recently became governor of Arkansas, and has a young family. 

When asked by Rosenberg, “Who do you think he's going to pick?” Santorum responded, “Anybody who actually thinks they know who Trump's going to pick, I think is crazy,” noting that “Trump does unpredictable things.” 

However, he said he favors Rubio, partially due to the impact it would have on the Hispanic voter segment. 

Trump is expected to announce his VP pick at the start of the Republican National Convention on Monday evening. 

Click below to watch the full interview.