Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota are the two front-runners for vice presidential running mate, as former President Donald Trump narrows down his options.
More than a dozen insiders who spoke with NBC News about the process detailed a heated discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of each contender for the ticket.
According to insiders, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, the third candidate, is still in the running. However, there have been persistent questions about his passion for the position and worries about resolving a constitutional issue that would force Trump or Rubio to acquire residency in a different state, which may harm his chances.
In public, Trump has stated that he plans to make his announcement at or closer to the Republican National Convention, which gets underway in Milwaukee on July 15. However, according to three people involved with the conversations, there is still disagreement over time. To end a harmful news cycle as soon as possible, Trump may make the announcement a few days sooner, following his sentencing on July 11 on 34 criminal counts.
According to a source, the pick might also occur prior to the sentence in an effort to create a financial bonanza independent of Trump’s sentencing or the convention—both of which his supporters anticipate will attract significant contributions. That scenario, according to another source, is improbable because of concern that his legal issues would soon overshadow any positive news that came from his running mate’s revelation.
The vice presidential candidate’s discussions have been kept under wraps, but given Trump’s penchant for drama, things might change dramatically.
Senior Trump campaign adviser Brian Hughes said in a statement, “As stated by President Trump, the most important factor in choosing a vice president is finding a capable leader who can serve as president for eight years following the conclusion of his next four-year term. But anyone claiming to know who or when President Trump will select his vice president is lying, unless that someone is called Donald J. Trump.”
According to a person familiar with the search, there is internal conflict and uncertainty about how to strike a balance between the need for a non-threatening running mate and the desire for someone who can be seen as Trump’s movement’s future. The source continued, “This tension exists throughout the campaign, including with Trump.”
As NBC News first revealed, Burgum, Vance, and Rubio have been at the top of Trump’s shortlist for weeks. However, with less than a month until the convention, scheming that involves both public auditions and behind-the-scenes scheming has intensified as rumors — some unfounded, some factual — circulate among those anxiously anticipating Trump’s choice. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, two other candidates who were once thought to be prospects, may still be in the running but aren’t being discussed as much as Burgum, Vance, or Rubio, according to insiders.
Battleground Michigan was the site of Burgum’s campaign on Thursday, while Vance joined Trump at a fundraiser in Cleveland. When Trump inquired about whether or not to choose Vance as his running mate, the audience there applauded enthusiastically, according to a person who was present.
Last week, Rubio gave a speech at a Trump birthday celebration in West Palm Beach, Florida. His tumultuous past with Trump, which dates back to their 2016 GOP presidential primary rivalry, has also reappeared. According to a person familiar with the situation, someone close to Trump has recently reinforced Rubio’s history of disparaging remarks to him.
Former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon, who also hosts a well-liked podcast among GOP voters, named Burgum, Vance, and Stefanik as “top-tier folks running hard” to be chosen.
“There is a deep bench of talent, unlike 2016,” Bannon remarked. It appears like a cabinet is in formation. For these murderers, there will be numerous consolation rewards.
Burgum, who was almost unknown outside of North Dakota a year ago when he began his own unlikely presidential bid, has risen to the top partly due to his ability to take on any challenge.
He has become more and more visible on right-wing talk shows and at GOP chicken dinners and Trump rallies. He traveled twice to New York for Trump’s trial, which concluded last month with convictions on all counts due to allegations that he had forged paperwork. And according to an invitation acquired by NBC News, Burgum will host a “video conference” for Trump next week. Attending a Q&A session via Zoom would cost $25,000.
Trump is pleased by Burgum’s wealth, loyalty, and good looks. He had the central casting appearance of a handsome businessman turned governor who had sold a software company in a billion-dollar stock sale, and he was the first of Trump’s most credible primary rivals to back him.
The former president likes to hang out with the governor, Burgum is unlikely to ever surpass him, and Burgum’s difficulty making a name for himself in the primaries suggests he wouldn’t be a likely heir apparent who attracts attention from Trump in the later years of a second administration are the main points of contention for Burgum.
Republicans are interpreting tea leaves from Trump’s associates since there aren’t many direct cues from him. In a brief diversion from his efforts to support his initial pick, former Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, longtime Trump advisor Roger Stone posed for a picture for Burgum last week.”I really like @GovDougBurgum,” Stone wrote on X following their respective speeches at a Florida GOP gathering.
According to someone who has recently spoken with Burgum, he is expressing to friends and colleagues that he is “just hoping there’s a place for him” in a Trump government. Yet, the individual continued, Burgum “seems he has a great shot” for the vice presidential position based on his manner.
Along with being a regular on TV, Vance has headlined multiple Trump fundraisers and attended the trial. What sets him apart from the other contenders is that he has a Trump family member who is publicly supporting him.
The elder son of the former president, Donald Trump Jr., supported Vance’s candidacy for the position in a March interview with the New York Post, whose editorial board supported Burgum this week, as well as on his podcast.
During their podcast discussion, Trump Jr. stated, “I have supported you for all the reasons you are discussing” about Vance. “I would really like to watch the vice presidential debate between Kamala Harris and JD Vance. I suppose there are other pleasant individuals who could run for vice president.
Vance is close to Trump Jr., who frequently reposts him on social media. Other Trump family members, particularly former first lady Melania Trump, may have more or equal influence on the choice, but Vance has attracted the interest of Eric Trump, another Trump son, and his wife Lara, who co-chairs the Republican National Committee. Recently, both have shared his TV appearances with their fans on social media or reposted him; they haven’t done the same for Burgum or Rubio.
Then there is Rubio, who is appealing and possibly more conventional than the other candidates due to his potential appeal to suburban women, Hispanic voters, and the more traditional Republicans who controlled the party twelve years ago when he was a finalist to be Mitt Romney’s running mate.
However, Rubio did not appear in court during Trump’s criminal trial, unlike Burgum and Vance. (A request for comment regarding his non-attendance was not answered by his team.) Given the peculiarities of the Electoral College, which prohibits electors from selecting a presidential and a vice presidential candidate from the same state, the residency question may be more complicated than it first seems. Furthermore, Rubio’s disparaging remark about Trump’s “small hands” made during the 2016 presidential primary is the kind of playground jest that Trump could be reluctant to accept with such a generous gift.
Rubio’s connection to prominent Trump campaign strategist Susie Wiles and other Florida GOP politicians actively involved in Trump’s campaign, however, may work to his advantage. Rubio still has supporters within Trump’s inner circle.
“Marco is fully committed to the game,” a Republican strategist in Florida stated. “At this time, JD Vance seems to be the front-runner, but Marco seems like the obvious choice if the residency situation didn’t come up.”
The residence factor, according to a source who has spoken with Trump regarding the running mate search, is a simple fix as long as Rubio moves. The insider also stated that Trump valued Rubio’s strong TV defense of him throughout the trial just as much as his in-person presence.
The insider claimed that Trump “watched him on television repeatedly, even on the evening of his conviction.” “If he finds you attractive on TV, he doesn’t need to see you in court.”
The source went on to say that Burgum would fit much better in the Cabinet. Although 39-year-old Vance has a “big future,” “The Senate needs fighters for Trump.”
These and other factors are factored into the computation when assessing Burgum and Vance. Both have histories of denouncing Trump.
Burgum has since recanted remarks he made during an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” last year, stating that “it’s important that you’re judged by the company you keep” and that he would not do business with Trump. Burgum claimed in a Fox News interview this week that he “only really got to know [Trump] as a person” after spending more time with him this year while on the campaign trail.
Vance, who has a particularly long history of criticizing Trump, is known to have voted for independent Evan McMullin in the 2016 presidential election. However, he has since claimed that Trump disproved him and that opponents voiced most of the criticism during his 2022 Senate campaign, in which Trump supported him in a packed GOP primary. Vance has been welcomed as one of the movement’s ardent supporters by numerous Trump supporters, who want to Make America Great Again.
Prominent pro-Trump activist Charlie Kirk noted last week in an interview with NBC News that Vance’s Midwest base and potential appeal to younger voters made him “the only person in the final three — Rubio, Burgum, and JD Vance — that is a popular elected official in the blue wall, and he’s also under the age of 40.” I now belong to Team Vance.
Some believe that Vance’s weakness is fundraising. Tens of millions of dollars were spent by National Republicans in his 2022 Senate campaign after Vance was unable to match the funding of his Democratic opponent. Vance’s far-right political views have drawn criticism from two establishment-minded contributors.
According to a source with connections to contributors, “many donors who have been reluctant to go all in but are now generally supportive of Trump don’t understand the Vance logic.”
Vance has made an effort to show that he is more adept at fundraising. A recent fundraiser in Silicon Valley, which had a $5 million initial goal, raised $12 million, according to a source with knowledge of the event.