Former President Donald Trump’s aides are currently vetting potential vice presidential candidates at Mar-a-Lago as the former president floats an expansive list of names in private conversations via Politico.
It has been noted that Trump’s top advisor Susie Wiles is leading a close-to-the-vest process of shortlisting around a dozen lawmakers and other Republican personalities under consideration, as per multiple people familiar with the process.
The campaign has already hired an outside firm to vet candidates and prepare research documents. Former first lady Melania Trump, who influenced Trump’s decision to select Mike Pence in 2016, has been kept apprised. Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. stated that he speaks with his father frequently about who is in contention.
While who is up or down seemingly changes by the minute, the list has included everyone from Tim Scott and Kristi Noem to Byron Donalds, Elise Stefanik, Tulsi Gabbard and J.D. Vance, whom Trump has called a “fighter.”
Though Trump said he doesn’t think the vice president matters all that much, he regularly asks guests at his Mar-a-Lago club for their opinion on different options and, with a flair for suspense, teases his choices in private meetings and media interviews. The process is expected to take months.
“He’s going to draw this out ‘Apprentice’-style,” said one person close to the Trump campaign who was granted anonymity to speak freely.
The former president has said his top criterion is picking someone “who is going to be a good president … in case of emergency.” But Trump is also sensitive to electoral needs, and part of the consideration is having someone who can help expand his appeal in November.
The names under consideration continue to be in flux, according to multiple people familiar with the list, who describe it as being in “pencil, not pen.”
But it includes Sens. Scott of South Carolina, Vance of Ohio, Katie Britt of Alabama and Marco Rubio of Florida, as well as Govs. Noem of South Dakota, Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas and Doug Burgum of North Dakota. Donalds, the Florida representative, and Gabbard, the former Hawaii representative, among others, are also being considered or have been floated by Trump.
