Former President Donald Trump has picked his 2024 running mate.
On Saturday, Trump announced that he has decided who will be his vice president, but hasn’t told anyone who he or she might be yet.
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“In my mind, yeah,” Trump told reporters at a Philadelphia rally when asked if he’s decided on his trusty sidekick.
“No, nobody knows,” the former president said when asked if anyone knew. However, Trump confirmed they will be at the first televised debate between him and President Joe Biden.
Last month, I reported that Trump’s VP shortlist had been narrowed down to just a handful of potential choices including Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Sen.Tim Scott (R-SC), Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Rep. Elise Stefanik (N.Y.).
Potential choices received vetting materials from the Trump campaign in recent weeks as he prepared to make a final decision.
A source close to the 2024 hopeful told the New York Post that Trump is looking for three things in regards to a running mate.
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“He’s looking for who can raise money, he’s looking for who is an effective surrogate on TV with adversarial media, and he’s looking at who will do the best job debating Kamala Harris,” the source said.
As the country anticipates the announcement of Trump’s VP pick for some time, the former president has downplayed the impact of a running mate on how the election will turn out.
“It’s never really had that much of an effect on an election,” Trump said.
Trump’s senior adviser Brian Hughes said the former president’s top concern when choosing a VP “is a strong leader who will make a great President for eight years after his next four-year term concludes.”