OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former President Donald Trump recently made a remarkable admission that even Democrats and “liberals” want to be his running mate and be part of his administration should he win in November.
“I get a kick out of watching the fake news media say, ‘Nobody wants to work with him; nobody wants to be vice president; Nobody wants to be secretary of state.’ Everybody wants to be in these positions,” Trump said.
“There’s is not a person in politics that doesn’t want it, and that includes Democrats. If I wanted, I’d have a Democrat; I’d have a liberal; I’d have … anybody I want,” he added.
“President Biden’s disastrous debate performance has persuaded former President Donald J. Trump to continue to hold off on naming his running mate for now, prompting another round of speculation — including within his own team — about when he may announce his pick,” the New York Times reported.
“His decision to cede the spotlight to a rival, even temporarily, is a seldom-seen strategy from the attention-driven former president, who has spent a lifetime bending news coverage to his benefit in real estate, on reality television and in national politics,” the Times added.
The report continued: “There was no concrete plan for the former president to announce his pick either last week or this week. But Mr. Biden’s fumbling performance left Mr. Trump in the aftermath with little choice but to further linger over his decision, according to two people familiar with the former president’s thinking. Naming a running mate now would risk stepping on the controversy swirling around his opponent, which has included calls from within the Democratic Party and from liberal news media figures for Mr. Biden to step aside.”
This week, the Fourth of July holiday affects Trump’s choice of when to reveal his choice so that he can get the most political and financial support.
Some people on Trump’s team think that making an announcement this holiday week could block out good news about the choice since many Americans, including some of TV’s best news reporters, are on vacation. In the past, the former president has judged the importance of an announcement in part by how well-known the TV host was who was giving the news.
Trump has also been known to tell reporters or post about choices on social media with little to no warning to his own team. That has made people wonder who he will pick as his running mate and when he will make the announcement.
That said, Trump noted he won’t be picking a Democrat as his running mate or potential vice president.
Earlier this month, reports broke that Trump’s campaign formally sent vice president vetting papers to a short list of potential running mates, and the list includes mostly familiar names.
Multiple news outlets report that Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), and Tim Scott (R-S.C.), plus Reps. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), have received the forms, as have North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.
NBC News claimed that the process is “heavily concentrated on four top prospects”—Burgum, Rubio, Scott, and Vance.
The absence of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R), Arizona U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) as vetting prospects was conspicuously evident in multiple high-profile reports, all of which relied on sources familiar with Trump’s campaign. However, the process is fluid, an insider told the Associated Press.
“Anyone claiming to know who or when President Trump will choose his VP is lying, unless the person is named Donald J. Trump,” Trump campaign spokesperson Brian Hughes said in a statement to outlets.