With less than a month away from the GOP National Convention in Milwaukee, former President Donald Trump’s advisers, high-level donors and supporters, and members of his family are all pulling the Republican nominee in different directions for who they think would be best to run on Trump’s ticket as vice president.
At one point, there were more than a dozen names being floated around as possible vice presidential contenders, including South Dakota governor Kristi Noem who fell from grace when she revealed she shot and killed her family’s dog because he was a “lousy hunter.”
While Trump’s vice president pick is still up for grabs, those closest to him are either focused on one of three potential candidates which include Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) or North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R).
This doesn’t mean that Trump’s previous top contenders like Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who was the keynote speaker at the National Republican Congressional Committee annual dinner, or Rep Elise Stefanik (R-New York), who has been constantly at to bat for Trump in all of his legal battles are off the table. While Trump’s top confidants are drawn to Rubio, Vance, and Burgum for different reasons, Trump is looking to pick a vice president who will be the best choice for the Republican Party to run for president in 2028, a source close to Trump had told CNN.
Kelly Anne Conway, former counselor to Trump who now dines with him at least once a week, has declined to speak on her support for Rubio with CNN but has publicly been pushing for a candidate who can help win Trump the non-White vote. Those close to Trump say that Conway has been the most persistent of Rubio as a pick.
Donald Trump Jr. and Steve Bannon have both been strongly advocating Trump in their push for freshman senator J.D. Vance. Trump Jr. helped rally and fundraise for Vance in 2022 and told NewsMax in January his strong support for Vance as a vice president.
“I’d love to see a J.D. Vance,” Trump Jr. told Newsmax in January. “You actually need a fighter.”
Even Kamala Harris’ former communications director Ashley Etienne, said during an interview with CNN that she thinks JD Vance “would pose the greatest threat” to Harris in a VP debate.
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Meanwhile, some, like media mogul Rupert Murdoch, are advocating for Doug Burgum, a lesser-known politician, to be serving on his ticket. He’s wealthy which could assist in Trump’s campaign and he’s relatively unknown and lacks controversy which definitely won’t hurt Trump.
However, while Trump is being pulled in different directions, his campaign manager, Susie Wiles, has remained neutral, and so has the entire campaign as Trump pieces together the best fit.
