Trump hints at a possible vice-presidential candidate

The formal nomination of Trump takes place at the party’s national meeting, which begins in Milwaukee on Monday and lasts until Thursday. Here it is also expected that Trump will announce who he has chosen as his running mate, possibly already on the opening day.

Trump probably wants a candidate who can balance between gathering voters while not stealing attention or proving to be more popular than himself.

Three favourites

Trump appears to have circled three candidates: Senator JD Vance of Ohio, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota. The latter himself tried to become the Republicans’ presidential candidate, but ended up resigning in December last year and then became an energy policy adviser in Trump’s election campaign team.

However, Trump may also choose someone completely different. On Monday, he told Fox News that he was considering a wide range of options, and he indicated that he had not yet decided.

– It’s going to be a great vice-president, which means a person who can do a fantastic job as president, because you always have to think regarding that first, he says.

– And secondly, there is someone who helps you win. And there is nothing wrong with that, he added.

Conflict and intrigue

Trump has previously made a number of suggestions regarding who can become vice president and has given conflicting information regarding how far he has come in the selection process – a behavior that can easily create conflict and intrigue.

Even before the televised debate with President Joe Biden on June 27, Trump said he knew who he was going to choose. He also said that the chosen one was probably present this evening.

All three favorites were this evening bused to the TV studio in Atlanta, where the debate took place.

Political analyst Donald Nieman believes that it is most likely that Vance will get the job. He is considered an articulate champion of so-called “Trumpism”, and is expected to attract white working-class men in key swing states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Haley not invited

But he also believes that if Trump had been less approachable, he might have been persuaded to go for Nikki Haley, the former US ambassador to the UN, who ran her own race to challenge Trump as a presidential candidate.

– She would bring Republican defectors and suburban women to Trump, which he needs, says Nieman, a history professor at Binghamton University in the state of New York.

– But he is not going to do that as she has not shown a submissive loyalty and willingness to renounce her own identity, he says.

Haley, who says she supports Trump, has not been invited to the convention, according to the magazine Politico.

It remains to be seen whether the selected candidate has what it takes to succeed and possibly use the position as a stepping stone to become a future president.