💬 Discussion

Trump’s VP shortlist is out

Friday, Jun 7

KP

Kyle Nowak|Peter Nowak

Image: KTSM

Former President Trump has begun the process of selecting his next apprentice, aka vice presidential candidate.

According to a series of new reports, the Trump campaign has requested information from a list of top potential VPs in recent weeks. And while the reports say the list is not yet complete, they identify four top candidates: Governor Doug Burgum (ND), Senator Tim Scott (SC), Senator J.D. Vance (OH), and Senator Marco Rubio (FL).

  • Internal Trump sources also mentioned four candidates who are reportedly lower down on the list: Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY), Rep. Byron Donalds (FL), Senator Tom Cotton (AR), and former HUD Secretary Ben Carson.

The reports come amid a fundraising surge for Trump’s campaign, especially in recent days. Trump and the Republican Party reported raising $76 million in April, drawing ahead of President Biden and Democrats ($51 million) for the first time this election cycle.

Zoom out: Trump currently holds a 41.2%–39.6% lead over Biden in FiveThirtyEight’s latest national polling averages, with RFK Jr. earning 9.4% of the vote. All three of those figures have remained relatively consistent since the beginning of March, including in the aftermath of Trump’s guilty verdict.

  • Trump is also ahead of Biden in six key swing states that experts say will likely decide the race (AZ, GA, MI, NV, PA, and WI). However, polls show Trump’s lead shrunk slightly in those states following his guilty verdict, from 48%-45% to 47%-46%.

👀 Looking ahead… Trump has said he will likely announce his running mate shortly before or during the Republican National Convention, which takes place July 15-18.

📊 Flash poll: If the November election were held today, who would you vote for?

See a 360° view of what media pundits are saying →

Democratic donkey symbol

Sprinkles from the Left

  • Some commentators argue that Trump clearly wants a VP who won’t challenge him or steal the spotlight, after his previous experience with Mike Pence and his refusal to endorse false election fraud claims.
  • Others contend that Trump’s drawn-out VP selection process shows how he wants his candidates to show both loyalty and fealty to him, and argue Trump could still decide on another candidate on a whim.
Republican elephant symbol

Sprinkles from the Right

  • Some commentators argue that Trump would be wise to use his VP pick to address his main campaign problem of appealing to GOP voters who supported Nikki Haley in the primary and may throw their vote to Biden or sit out entirely come November.
  • Others contend that important takeaways from Trump’s VP shortlist include the lack of MAGA favorites Vivek Ramaswamy or Tulsi Gabbard, as well as the emergence of three Black VP candidates.
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