Picking a candidate for vice president can’t be easy—I haven’t had to do it myself, but I have to imagine it’s pretty difficult—and the Clinton campaign had some interesting potential choices in mind, including two of the most familiar figures in the technology world.
According to a leaked emails between Clinton campaign John Podesta and Hillary Clinton, both longtime Microsoft boss Bill Gates and current Apple CEO Tim Cook were included on an early list of potential VP candidates.
Wikileaks
The men and women on the list are broken up into what Podesta called “rough food groups,” and the section where Gates and Cook are included is very much business-focused. Also included on the list are Melinda Gates, General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent, and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz.
Neither Tim Cook nor Bill Gates has much in the way of political experience, though as the heads of major corporations, both have had plenty of dealings with regulatory agencies and the government as a whole.
It’s worth noting that while Tim Cook has held Republican fundraisers in the past, including one in 2016, the Apple boss has been firmly opposed to a Donald Trump presidency. That’s not necessarily evidence he would have taken the offer, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.
H/T Alex Griswold