Trump Makes Massive Announcement About His VP Pick
Former President Donald Trump has revealed his top contenders for the vice-presidential slot and provided a timeline for when he might make the announcement.
“I’d love to do it during the convention, or just slightly before the convention, like Monday,” he stated on “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show.” “Love to do it on Tuesday or Wednesday, actually, but for a lot of complex reasons that you people understand, pretty much don’t do that.”
A key reason for the timing is that the Republican National Committee needs to prepare campaign materials featuring the vice-presidential candidate's name for the convention, which begins on Monday.
The shortlist for the vice-presidential position includes Republican Senators Marco Rubio, JD Vance, and Tim Scott, along with North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.
“It’s like a highly sophisticated version of ‘The Apprentice,’ if you think about it,” Trump commented.
“I have some really good candidates,” he added. “I may be leaning one way, and that changes sometimes. All of a sudden, you see something that you like or you don’t like, and you lean a little bit differently.”
According to a Trump campaign official, “The campaign has provided all the information he needs to make his decision, and we are all in agreement that it’s his decision to be made. Whenever that decision is made, we are ready to go.”
Some believe Trump is delaying the announcement due to the current turmoil within the Democratic Party and does not want to divert attention from that.
“It increases the excitement,” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said. “Plus, if you’re watching your opponent fall apart, why get in the way? Woodrow Wilson once said, ‘Never murder a man who is in the process of committing suicide,’ and you’re watching Biden and the Democrats drift into a civil war. Why get in the way?”
Bill White, a friend and campaign donor, speculates that Trump has already made his decision.
“The only person who knows at the end of the day is him, and I think the only two other people who’d know right after him, when nobody else knows, are his wife and Susie Wiles,” White said.
Former First Lady Melania Trump is also said to have a favorite among the candidates. She has reportedly spoken highly of Doug Burgum, who has been actively campaigning for Trump in various swing areas, according to Puck News.
Sources suggest Melania favors Burgum because she is close to his wife, Kathryn, who worked with her on a White House project. However, this choice faces opposition from Donald Trump, Jr., who strongly supports Ohio Senator J.D. Vance.
“If it’s Melania over Don Jr., she wins,” a source noted, though they added that her credibility suffered after urging Trump to endorse Mehmet Oz over David McCormick in Pennsylvania’s 2022 U.S. Senate race. “That was a major f***-up on her part. It cost her,” said a former Trump aide.
Supporters of Governor Burgum highlight that his amiable, understated demeanor complements the often irascible Trump, adding strength to the ticket without overshadowing him. The North Dakota Republican is also very wealthy, having contributed $20 million of his own money to his presidential campaign and maintaining a network of affluent conservatives who have been hesitant to back Trump.