Trump Reportedly Focusing in on These 3 Names for VP Pick

It's the question on everyone's mind: Who will Donald Trump choose as his running mate this time?

The former president's team is moving closer to an answer, having reached out to several potential candidates for vetting paperwork.

ABC News first reported the requests, naming North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as potential candidates.

NBC News added South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott to the list, citing an unnamed source. However, another source told NBC that Trump was mainly focused on Burgum, Rubio, and Vance—for now.

In addition to those four, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson were also asked to provide information to the campaign. NBC noted it was “unclear” whether these requests were as “extensive” as those sent to the primary prospects.

Burgum and Vance declined to comment to ABC, but Rubio denied receiving any paperwork request.

“I haven’t talked to them about vice president,” Rubio told ABC’s Rachel Scott on Wednesday.

However, when recently asked by NBC if he’d be interested in the role, Rubio said, “I’ll do whatever the campaign asked me to do.”

Trump has previously stated he would announce his choice before the Republican National Convention, which is less than six weeks away.

In 2016, Trump announced then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate only days before the convention, as regular readers of The Western Journal may recall.

Politico speculated that Burgum might be leading the pack due to his “fundraising and donor outreach,” but cited “some on the outside” rather than Trump insiders. (It’s possible there aren’t any Trump insiders willing to leak to left-leaning Politico.)

NBC reported that Trump’s short list of prospects remains “fluid” and “at times includes more than a half-dozen names.”

“Anyone claiming to know who or when President Trump will choose his VP is lying, unless the person is named Donald J. Trump,” Trump campaign senior adviser Brian Hughes told NBC.

In a phone interview on Newsmax, Trump praised all four top contenders, including Scott.

“I thought Tim Scott didn’t run as good of a race as he’s capable of running for himself, but as a surrogate for me, he’s unbelievable. He’s been incredible,” Trump said, according to ABC.

“Gov. Burgum from North Dakota has been incredible. Marco Rubio has been great. J.D. Vance has been great,” he added. “We’ve had so many great people out there.”

NPR added a few more names to the list based on their loyalty to the former president and their potential to “help him win the race” by appealing to “voting blocs Trump is looking to tap into.”

In addition to the already mentioned names, NPR included South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, former TV news anchor and Arizona senatorial candidate Kari Lake, former Trump press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Trump’s former ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley.