Former president Donald Trump ran a money-spinning donor retreat at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend, with several heavyweight Republicans in attendance believed to be on his list of running mates.
Leaked audio, obtained by Axios, dropped a few hints at where he might be leaning, although ‘The Apprentice’-style decision could still be a couple of months from being finalized.
When it came to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Trump admitted, “his name is coming up a lot for vice president.” However, the pair could hit a snag being on the same ticket as they are both residents of Florida. The 12th Amendment states that should a presidential ticket include residents from the same state, that state is prohibited from voting for them.
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The same issue could arise with Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL). Trump tried to explain that Donalds has “created something very special politically.” Another candidate in the same boat is Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL), who Trump credited as “a man that knows more about the military” so much so that Trump calls him about military affairs.
“I like diversity. Diversité as you would say. I like diversité,” Trump said. “[Donors] worth millions of dollars . . . all want a piece of Byron.”
“As a candidate he did a good job,” Trump said of Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), “but as a surrogate he’s unbelievable.”
Scott appeared on Meet the Press Sunday to predict that Trump’s final choice will come within the next 60 days, just in time for the Republican National Convention in July. This was a similar timeline to Trump’s 2016 run, when he announced Mike Pence as his running mate days before that year’s convention.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) has claimed it would be “a great honor” to be Trump’s vice president, but Trump recalled their early beginnings, before the two endorsed each other in their prospective elections.
“He wasn’t a supporter of mine at the very beginning,” Trump said. “He was saying things like ‘the guy’s a total disaster’ . . . any ways I got to know him a little bit . . . As a non politician, he’s become one of the great senators.”
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is also in the running after Trump endorsed her for former Rep. Liz Cheney’s position of GOP Conference Chair in 2021. Cheney had been an outspoken opponent of Trump’s and would ultimately lose her reelection bid after Stefanik took over. Trump called her “a very smart person.”
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“She was in upstate New York when I met her,” Trump said. “Little did we realize she would be such a big factor.”
Utah’s Sen. Mike Lee (R) received a compliment from Trump on his haircut, a buzzcut he has kept since last fall. The former president said Lee is “a good man too.” Trump referred to Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) as “a very rich man” and Sen. Marsha Blackburn as “the energizer bunny” during her 2018 campaign. “Friend” to Trump Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) got his recognition for making “the best commercial” and having a “beautiful family.”
