Trump close to announcing his V-P nominee

Yashwant Raj

Washington, July 13 (IANS) Former US President Donald Trump is expected to name one of these three Republicans as his running mate for the 2024 presidential election any time now -- Senators Marco Rubio and J.D. Vance, and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. 

Who will it be?

Trump might announce the name later Saturday at a rally or Sunday, before the Republican convention to formally crown him as the Republican nominee kicks off on Monday, or during the party meet.

In 2016, he announced Mike Pence as his running mate just two days before the convention in Colombia, Ohio. By tradition, the vice-presidential nominee is the star speaker of the convention's penultimate night, with the final night reserved for the presidential nominee.

The former president has been conducting a very public audition for the job with contenders required to show up together or individually when required in a throwback to the TV show 'The Apprentice' in which Trump tested contestants for their business skills. The show ran from 2004 to 2017 and played a major role in shaping his public persona across the country.

Trump has said he is looking for a nominee who, as he said in April, "can be a good president, which Biden doesn't have" and, he added this Monday, "somebody that helps you get elected".

He is reported to have narrowed the field to Rubio, Vance and Burgum.

Rubio knows the former president the longest. But they started out on the wrong foot. As contenders for the Republican nomination in 2016, they clashed bitterly with personal insults and innuendoes. They have made up since and Rubio was among the early endorsers of Trump for this third bid for the White House. As a Latino, Rubio's appeal among Latino voters makes him someone who can help Trump win.

The problem: Trump and Rubio are residents of the same state, Florida. The 12th Amendment to the US Constitution states that presidential and vice presidential candidates running on the same ticket "shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves". One of them will have to move out of the state if Trump picks Rubio.

Vance, a venture capitalist millionaire, has the shortest experience in US politics. He was sworn into the US Senate only in 2023. And his other drawback, which will be exploited by Democrats if he is named running mate, is his previous criticism of Trump -- called him "America's Hitler" and an "idiot". He has since emerged as a forceful and erudite spokesperson for Trump's MAGA (Make America Great Again) agenda. And he is telegenic and comes across well on TV, which is a big qualification for Trump. Additionally, he has Trump's eldest son Don Trump Jr as his loudest advocate, along with TV personality Tucker Carlson.

Burgum, a millionaire businessman, appeals to pro-business Republicans but he doesn't help the ticket much. North Dakota, the state that elected him twice for governor, is a reliably Republican state, which will vote for Trump even if Burgum was not on the ticket. But the wealthy businessman has been backed by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post, part of Rupert Murdoch's media empire.

Trump could announce the winner at the rally he is addressing in Pennsylvania later Saturday, or Sunday.

--IANS

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