By The Trump campaign has been actively vetting potential vice presidential candidates, having previously requested vetting documents from a pool of at least eight individuals. This group included prominent Republicans such as Senators Tim Scott and Tom Cotton, House members Elise Stefanik and Byron Donalds, and former secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson. The extensive vetting process highlighted the campaign’s strategic efforts to select a running mate with the experience and political influence needed for the upcoming election.
Now, that list has been cut drastically as the Republican National Committee nears.
The Washington Post reports that the former president has narrowed his list of potential running mates down to three.
Trump has not communicated his choice, the people familiar with the situation said, but discussions inside the campaign have narrowed in on Sens. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is also in the mix, and Trump, who has a habit of changing his mind, was privately discussing other names as recently as the last week, according to the people with knowledge of the situation. Like others interviewed for this story, the people spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private talks.
Trump has two rallies scheduled this upcoming week: One on Tuesday in Miami and the other on Saturday in Butler, Pa. Trump has publicly said he would name his vice-presidential pick at the convention. The nomination is expected to take place July 15 under convention protocol, according to two of the people with knowledge of the situation. The vice-presidential pick is slated to speak on July 17.
The former president’s running mate choice is one of the most closely watched decisions of his campaign. Trump said in June that he had decided on his vice-presidential pick but hadn’t told the person yet.
“The vice-presidential pick is a very personal thing for the president,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a Trump ally. “The vice president’s job is to basically support the president’s policies and be an advocate for what he wants.”
The public will know who the next Republican vice presidential nominee will be next Monday, Jason Miller, a senior Trump campaign adviser, told Fox News.
“It’s almost an embarrassment of riches that there are so many good people,” Miller said on “Fox & Friends” Monday of Trump’s choices for running mate. “And what President Trump has said is that whoever he does pick needs to be able to step in and do the job on day one.”
Miller added that the former president has many “great choices.”
“What we don’t know is who President Trump and his running mate will be running against,” Miller said. “Ultimately, with all the talk this morning about Joe Biden and whether or not he can hang on in the presidential spot.”
“I look ahead as a campaign strategist to what does that vice presidential debate look like,” Miller said, referencing calls from within the media for Biden to withdraw from the race. “We don’t know if that’s going to be Kamala, or maybe they swap her out for someone who’s even more liberal, more extreme, although that might be tough to do,” Miller said.
“There are clues pointing to each of the three of the top candidates getting the nod in the next week,” explained The New York Post. “Rubio is reportedly scheduled to be at Trump’s Doral, Fla., rally on Tuesday night and changed his schedule at the last minute to ensure he would make it.
Trump is having another rally in western Pennsylvania on Saturday, potentially giving him a prime opportunity to announce Vance, who reps neighboring Ohio, as his choice.”
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