Trump ‘narrows VP search to THREE candidates’
Donald Trump’s list of potential running mates has been reduced to just three.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) are the three remaining contenders after the former president’s team said earlier this summer that there were only about seven candidates left .
Trump said this weekend that he has made a decision on who he wants to add to his presidential ticket in November, but that no one else knows.
More than a dozen sources involved or with knowledge of the process confirmed to NBC News that the choice is Burgum, Vance or Rubio.
But some argue that Burgum and Vance are to blame, saying there are questions about Rubio’s enthusiasm for the job β and that the issue of them both being Florida residents could raise issues with the 12th Amendment’s “resident clause.”
New reports say Donald Trump’s veepstakes race is down to three people β but the former president said he’s already decided who will join him on the Republican 2024 ticket
Trump told reporters at his rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Saturday that his 2024 running mate will attend the CNN debate in Atlanta on Thursday.
The former president revealed that he has made a decision on who will run for vice president based on the Republican ticket, but the person he picked doesn’t even know it yet.
Reporters asked Trump ahead of his rally on Saturday whether he had settled on a running mate with just over four months until the election. βIn my mind, yes,β Trump replied.
βNo, no one knows,β he said when asked if he had yet informed the person that he has chosen VP.
Trump heads to Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday for his first debate with President Joe Biden in the 2024 general election race.
The debate is one of the earliest in an election cycle in modern history and comes just a month after the former president was found guilty in Manhattan of 34 charges related to the hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
Trump told NBC his choice will “most likely” be during Thursday’s debate.
Trump’s vice presidential selection has increased in the weeks leading up to the debate and the Republican National Convention scheduled for July 15-18.
In recent months, Trump has seriously considered a list of eight Republicans who would join him in November, his campaign confirmed to several media outlets.
The shortlist included; Burgum, Vance, Rubio, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), and Trump’s former Secretary of State Public Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson.
Burgum and Scott were both in the 2024 race for the Republican nomination against Trump before dropping out and endorsing the former president.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and Senator JD Vance (R-Ohio) are the top two contenders, according to more than a dozen sources closing out the selection process
While Trump has praised all these and others, claiming they would make good selections, he has also downplayed the impact his running mate will have on his election.
βIt’s never had this much effect on an election,β Trump told Fox earlier this year.
Several candidates have received audit materials from Trump’s campaign in recent weeks.
Trump has said he may publicly announce his No. 2 pick at the Republican Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Immediately after the debate, Trump will head straight to Virginia for a rally Friday outside Norfolk and Virginia Beach.
Meanwhile, Biden will head directly to North Carolina for a rally and Vice President Kamala Harris to Nevada for an event on mobilizing Latino voters. Both North Carolina and Nevada are essentially battleground states for Biden if he wants to win re-election.