When the topic of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s possible running mate came up at a fundraiser for his campaign in Manhattan last week, the former president gave high marks to candidates like the governor of North Dakota State’s Doug Burgum and Senator Tim Scott.
Some of the wealthy donors said Trump should choose former Republican primary rival Nikki Haley as his running mate. The ties between the two had broken because she defied him, but she served as his faithful ambassador to the United Nations (UN) for two years while he was president.
Trump, 77, largely rejected the suggestion and suggested the group forget about the idea, two donors familiar with the interaction said.
Trump had previously expressed interest in choosing a woman as his running mate for the Nov. 5 election, and some allies encouraged him to do so with the aim of boosting his standing among female voters.
Trump’s standing with this important voting bloc was further complicated by his conviction last week in a New York trial, in which he was accused of covering up a payment intended to influence the 2016 election by silencing a porn star who claimed he had had sexual relations while he was married – something he denies.
However, his current list of vice presidential candidates is almost entirely men, according to nine people who have spoken to Trump or his team in recent weeks, including donors, lobbyists and campaign operatives.
Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio have emerged as the leading candidates for vice president, said the nine people, who requested anonymity to report private conversations.
Several of those people said Burgum and Scott of South Carolina remain in the race, while Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York are obscure candidates, two people said.
Trump’s team has sent evaluation materials to leading candidates, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. Rubio, Burgum and Stefanik are among those who received the materials, the sources told Reuters.
Multiple sources emphasized the fluid nature of vice presidential deliberations, saying new names could quickly enter and exit the conversation.
Trump said there is a “good chance” he will announce a running mate at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in mid-July. His campaign declined to share details about the search.
“Anyone who claims to know who or when President Trump will choose his vice president is lying, unless the person is named Donald J. Trump,” said Trump senior adviser Brian Hughes.
All potential vice presidential candidates declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.
Source: CNN Brasil
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