Washington: With the pomp and pageantry of his official nomination just days away, Donald Trump’s quest for the Republican presidential nominee is on home soil.
The former US president is looking for a number two who can walk the fine line between helping to mobilize Trump’s right-wing base and staying in lane as an acolyte who won’t hog the limelight or, worse, be more popular than the boss.
Trump is expected to announce his choice within the next week at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, with an announcement expected as early as opening day on Monday.
The billionaire appears to have targeted two U.S. senators, J.D. Vance of Ohio and Marco Rubio of Florida, as well as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who originally ran against Trump before falling in line.
The calculation could still change, as Trump told Fox News on Monday that he was considering a “large bench” of prospects and had not made a decision.
“And then, secondly, someone to help you get elected. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Ever the consummate showman, Trump is ramping up the intrigue, soon sending out a “long list” of contenders and offering conflicting reports about how far along he was in the selection process.
There was speculation that he could use his first public appearance in 11 days to announce Rubio as he addressed supporters at his Doral golf club in suburban Miami.
He checked on the senator in the front row a few times, but kept quiet about his thoughts on the veepstakes.
Trump could have dropped his big reveal at any time in the days leading up to Milwaukee, except the news likely would have punctuated one of the worst weeks of his 81-year-old rival Joe Biden’s career.
The veteran Democrat is facing calls to drop out of the race after a widely publicized anti-Trump debate raised questions about the mental capacity of America’s oldest president.
“The big danger right now is that all the attention is on Biden, that if you make an announcement, it will be lost,” Republican strategist Rob Burgess, who worked on Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns, told AFP.
One of the biggest factors for Trump will be his candidate’s fundraising prowess, and all the contenders have been under pressure to show their connections to wealthy mega-donors.
The campaign, meanwhile, has made sure they are regularly booked for cable news interviews — the kind of casting call that allows Trump to gauge how they look on camera.
Trump said before the June 27 debate that he already knew who his running mate would be, noting that his pick would likely attend that night.
The three front-runners were all bused to the CNN studio in Atlanta, along with some of the less popular candidates, to watch from the volleyball court before being sent to confront Trump on the press line.
Political analyst Donald Nieman said he expected Vance to get the nod as an outspoken messenger of Trumpism, which is seen as appealing to white working-class men in the key swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
But he added that a less “skinny” Trump could be persuaded to go with Nikki Haley, the former UN ambassador who was his last challenger in the nomination race.
“But she won’t because she hasn’t shown total loyalty and willingness to submerge her own identity.
Haley, who says she supports Trump, was not invited to the convention, according to Politico.
In any case, it remains to be seen whether the successful candidate has what it takes to succeed where Mike Pence failed and use the job as a stepping stone to the presidency.
“Although the role of the vice president has grown, ultimately it depends on the personality of the president and his leadership style.”
