OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former President Donald Trump has announced that he has chosen his vice president.
It is the long awaited decision for the Republican Party as many wonder if the vice presidential pick will bring aboard previously wary centrist Republicans and independents.
The former president declined to name who the pick will be but he said he has decided who it will be when he spoke to reporters before his rally in Philadelphia on Saturday.
“Trump tells me and @DashaBurns just now: – He’s picked his VP – He hasn’t told them yet – They’ll be at the debate,” NBC News reporter Jake Traylor said on X, formerly Twitter.
NEW: Trump tells me and @DashaBurns just now:
– He’s picked his VP
– He hasn’t told them yet
– They’ll be at the debate pic.twitter.com/xL3qV98PFL— Jake Traylor (@jake__traylor) June 22, 2024
The names said to be on his shortlist include Senator JD Vance, Rep. Elise Stefanik, Senator Tim Scott, Senator Marco Rubio, Dr. Ben Carson and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.
“This time Trump’s calculus will be much different than it was during his last two campaigns,” New York Magazine’s Intelligencer column noted. “Unlike in 2016, he can pretty much choose whoever he wants (within reason). Assuming the primary continues on its current trajectory, he will owe his nomination to no particular party faction; that means there’s no significant bloc of intraparty opposition that he must appease the way conservative evangelicals needed to be placated with Mike Pence.”
“Trump also has to think about his legacy. Since he’s limited to two terms, his veep will be the prohibitive front-runner in 2028 if Republicans win,” the column continued. “Even if they don’t take back the White House, the vice presidential choice is Trump’s best opportunity to designate a successor not only as party leader but as the chieftain of the MAGA movement.”
The former president has made several comments about potential running mates, but he has yet to make a hard-and-fast determination.
Still, there has been much speculation regarding who he will choose.
A noted Republican senator dropped a big hint during a Newsmax TV interview on Friday that Trump will likely pick him as his running mate and eventual vice president.
“Senator, I would love to moderate a debate with you, but I have a hunch that there might be a vice presidential debate,” said host Eric Bolling. “Maybe Kamala Harris will be debating Senator Tim Scott on that one, and I would be honored to moderate that one.”
“If you’re the guy moderating, maybe I’ll be talking to you,” Scott responded. “We’ll see what happens… but we need a new president. And that’s Donald Trump.”
“And a new vice president, and is it you?” Bolling followed up.
“We’ll have to wait and see,” Scott, who ran for the 2024 GOP nomination but quickly endorsed Trump after the South Carolina Republican dropped out, replied.
Meanwhile Kamala Harris made a decision on debating whoever the pick is.
Harris has agreed to participate in a single debate against whoever former President Donald Trump selects as his running mate.
The agreement was reached after Fox News anchors Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier announced on Friday that their network had offered to host a VP debate.
“This is the Wild West of debate proposals. We put out a debate proposal for a presidential debate. It was accepted by former President Trump. Not accepted yet by the Biden camp in early October and now there’s a pitch specifically for the vice presidential debate that went out about half an hour ago to both campaigns, suggesting that in addition, the Fox News media has reached out to Virginia State University (VSU) as a possible location since it was selected by the Commission of Presidential Debates to be the first a historically black college or university to host a presidential debate,” Baier reported.
“So we are making this formal request for a Vice President of debate either July 23rd, August 13th, or after the RNC and DNC conventions, and just in the past few minutes as that has gone out, I have received this. From former President Trump and the campaign,” he added before quoting a Trump Truth Social post regarding a veep debate.
“On behalf of the future vice president of the United States, who I have not yet chosen, we hereby accept to the FOX vice presidential debate. Hopefully, at Virginia State University, the first historically black college or university to host a debate. Date to be determined. I urge Vice President Kamala Harris to agree to this, and make America Great Again,” he wrote.
Baier continued: “That’s from a former president, his campaign. So we will see about the Biden-harris campaign response and where we go from here. Obviously, we have the CNN and ABC debate that has been agreed to already and we’ll see what else happens. This is a strange dynamic in getting these things locked down but we are doing it in short order.”
