Donald Trump will gather vice presidential hopefuls together at a donor retreat in Palm Beach, Florida, as he continues to keep the nation guessing about who will receive the nod.Â
A copy of the guest list for the event was obtained by Politico, featuring names like Senator Tim Scott (R-Sc.) and Governor Doug Burgum (R-Nd.).
Trump corrals VP contenders
With Trump having sewn up his party’s nomination for president, speculation about his running mate has ramped up. An announcement is expected sometime around the party’s convention in July.
Trump has cast a fairly wide net, leaving the nation in suspense.
The guest list for the May 3-5 donor retreat includes Trump’s former 2016 rival Marco Rubio (R-Fl.), Senator Tim Scott, who has become a vocal Trump backer since dropping a short-lived White House bid, and Governor Kristi Noem (R-Sd.), another close Trump ally.
Others on the guest list who are rumored to be angling for VP include Senator J.D. Vance (R-Oh.), a former Trump critic-turned-MAGA acolyte, North Dakota governor Doug Burgum (R-Nd.), who ran a low-key White House bid last year, and Elise Stefanik (R-Ny.) and Byron Donalds (R-Fl.), two prominent Trump defenders in Congress.
Other guests at the donor event include House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fl.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Ten.), Reps. Jim Banks (R-In.) and Wesley Hunt (R-Tx.), and former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway.
Donald casts a wide net
The fairly inclusive list of VP contenders is the latest sign that Trump intends to treat his VP search like a game show, keeping contenders, and spectators alike, on their toes.
Trump is known to value the look of a candidate, and his recent turn to the middle on abortion suggests he may be wary of tapping a hardline conservative.
Trump’s sons are acting as gatekeepers in the VP search, Axios reported, as Trump weighs who will remain loyal to him.
His eldest son, Donald Jr., has pushed for a “fighter” like J.D. Vance, who has become known as a fiery spokesman of Trump’s “America First” agenda.
Sources close to Trump have stressed that only he knows who will get chosen, and it’s quite possible that even Trump hasn’t decided yet, especially with his attention absorbed by his ongoing criminal trial in New York.
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Author: Matthew Boose
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