Trump to keep VP pick secret until convention
President Donald Trump said Thursday he would wait to announce his running mate choice until the start of the Republican National Convention July 15, pushing back his initial timeline.
Trump had indicated earlier this month he would be picking his No. 2 “probably not too much before the convention” — but told News12 in an interview after his South Bronx rally that he would announce his running mate “sometime during the convention.”
Traditionally, the Republican or Democratic nominee for vice president is confirmed on the penultimate night of the national convention, which in the GOP’s case would be July 17.
Trump, 77, has avoided providing concrete details on whom his VP may be.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum told The Post after Trump’s Wildwood, NJ, rally May 11 that the 45th president had told supporters at Mar-a-Lago there could be up to 50 people on the list of running mate contenders.
During the News12 interview, Trump mentioned four names of potential veeps — former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and JD Vance (R-Ohio) and House GOP Conference chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY).
Trump mentions Dr. Ben Carson, Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. J.D. Vance, and Rep. Elise Stefanik when asked about VP pick.
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— AF Post (@AFpost) May 24, 2024
But Trump, as usual, refused to provide any further clues.
“We have so many, I don’t want to do that, we have so many,” he said when asked to identify his top three choices.
“We have many people who would do a fantastic job.”
Trump also dished on his former rival Nikki Haley, who revealed Wednesday that she will be voting for him in November.
The former UN ambassador had kept quiet about the prospect of backing Trump after dropping out of the 2024 presidential race in early March, but ultimately said she would support her onetime rival because President Biden has been a “catastrophe.”
“I think she’s going to be on our team, because we have a lot of the same ideas, the same thoughts,” Trump told News 12 of Haley. “I appreciate her, what she said.”
“She’s a very capable person and I’m sure she’s going to be on our team in some form, absolutely,” he added.
However, Trump has said Haley is definitely not in the running to be his running mate.
The long list of potential VP candidates also reportedly includes Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and former Hawaii Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, among others.
NEW: REPORT: Tulsi Gabbard OUT of Veepstakes.https://t.co/iisXfTFZVI
— The National Pulse (@TheNatPulse) May 24, 2024
