Inside Donald Trump’s ‘Apprentice-style’ search for a running mate

Donald Trump’s aides are vetting potential vice presidential candidates at Mar-a-Lago as the former president floats an expansive list of names in private conversations.

Susie Wiles, a top adviser to Trump, is leading a close-to-the-vest process of narrowing a list of around a dozen lawmakers and other Republican personalities under consideration, according to multiple people familiar with the process. The campaign has already hired an outside firm to vet candidates and prepare research documents. Former first lady Melania Trump, who influenced Trump’s decision to select Mike Pence in 2016, has been kept apprised. And Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. said he speaks with his father frequently about who is in contention.

While who is up or down seemingly changes by the minute, the list has included everyone from Tim Scott and Kristi Noem to Byron Donalds, Elise Stefanik, Tulsi Gabbard and J.D. Vance, whom Trump has called a “fighter.”

Trump, despite saying he doesn’t think the vice president matters all that much, regularly asks guests at his Mar-a-Lago club for their opinion on different options and, with a flair for suspense, teases his choices in private meetings and media interviews. The process is expected to take months.

“He’s going to draw this out ‘Apprentice’-style,” said one person close to the Trump campaign who was granted anonymity to speak freely.

The former president has said his top criterion is picking someone “who is going to be a good president … in case of emergency.” But Trump is also sensitive to electoral needs, and part of the consideration is having someone who can help expand his appeal in November.

The names under consideration continue to be in flux, according to multiple people familiar with the list, who describe it as being in “pencil, not pen.” But it includes Sens. Scott of South Carolina, Vance of Ohio, Katie Britt of Alabama and Marco Rubio of Florida, as well as Govs. Noem of South Dakota, Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas and Doug Burgum of North Dakota. Donalds, the Florida representative, and Gabbard, the former Hawaii representative, among others, are also being considered or have been floated by Trump.

Trump seems to relish the guessing game — which has been going on since he announced his third White House bid in November 2022, but has intensified since he clinched the nomination in March.

During one private meeting several weeks ago in Palm Beach, Florida, he went down the list of possible running mates with visitors, including one member of Congress, offering commentary on each. He spoke highly of Stefanik and Gabbard, according to a person with knowledge of the conversation and granted anonymity to speak freely. And he was dismissive of Scott, suggesting the senator may not be up to the job of being president, if needed.

Still, in a sign of his vacillation, Trump spoke positively about Scott as recently as last week, according to a person familiar with a private conversation with the former president. A spokesperson for Scott declined to comment.

“He’ll ask you about people,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), said in an interview.

The senator cautioned that those names being promoted by Trump allies or political consultants should be treated skeptically. “All I can tell you is, if you’re hearing any names, it ain’t going to be them. It’s all propaganda.”

The former football coach said all the name-floating felt familiar: “Like football coaches whenever there’s a job opening, my agent always put my name in there to get me a raise, get me publicity and all that.” Tuberville echoed Trump’s own advisers, who have expressed annoyance at some of the behind-the-scenes maneuverings of consultants.

Kellyanne Conway, the former senior counselor to Trump in the White House, suggested Trump should choose someone who can help him win and govern, and not be a distraction as he tries to expand his reach to minority voters, women and political independents. Specifically, she said Trump should select someone who can speak about abortion with “conviction and compassion” and articulate what it means to be a “pro-life Republican” versus “pro-choice Democrat” in 2024.

“Unlike the Democrats who are stuck with a wildly unpopular president and vice president, Trump has an embarrassment of riches in terms of who he can choose,” Conway said in an interview.

She added that when Trump is thinking about vice president he is also considering people for other top positions in a potential administration: “The VP is the most important decision, but he is widely focused on personnel all around.”

But everyone has an opinion about the No. 2 job. Trump Jr. said last week that he speaks with his father frequently about the vice presidential selection process and is pushing him to choose a “fighter.” He implicitly criticized Trump’s former vice president, Pence, who declined to support efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

“When people didn’t know Trump beyond sort of the TV personality or the business guy, you needed a little more balance. And I think that made a lot of sense with Mike Pence at the time,” Trump Jr. told POLITICO at a rally for Senate candidate Jim Banks in Indiana. “Now, I think we see where our country is, you need someone who’s actually going to fight.”

One contender Trump has viewed in that light is Vance, whom he called a “fighter” at a rally earlier this month.

“I would be interested in doing it if he asked me, but he also hasn’t asked me,” Vance said in an interview. “I don’t think he’s close to asking anybody. So I think it feels extremely premature.”

As he searches for a running mate this year, those under consideration are finding ways to be helpful with the campaign. Scott, for example, talks with Trump by call or text message nearly weekly, according to a person with knowledge of their relationship and granted anonymity to speak freely. The senator is also highly involved as a Trump campaign surrogate on TV.

Scott is making fundraising calls at the Trump campaign’s request and will attend rallies and fundraising events when asked, including appearing with Trump, Burgum and former GOP primary rival Vivek Ramaswamy next weekend at a big fundraiser in Palm Beach.

Burgum, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination, recently traveled to Nevada as a Trump campaign surrogate to speak to Clark County Republicans. He didn’t rule out serving in the Trump Cabinet or as vice president when pressed last week by Fox News host Neil Cavuto.

“I talk to the former president, but I know that he’s going to make a choice about his Cabinet and about who’s vice president at the time of his choosing,” Burgum said, adding that his “name has come up for about a half a dozen different Cabinet positions.”

The significance of a running mate on the election’s outcome has long been the subject of debate. Mitt Romney, who ran for president in 2012, seemed to agree with Trump’s skepticism, saying in an interview, “generally vice president picks make no difference” in an election.

“As they say, VP picks can hurt you, they rarely help you,” Romney said.

But any decision could make a difference in a general election that may be determined in a few critical counties across a handful of battleground states. In 2016, Trump selected Pence to give him conservative bona fides and deliver evangelical voters. And beyond helping Trump in 2024, the next vice presidential nominee may also have a leg up in who Republicans nominate in 2028.

“This person will not only be one heartbeat away from the presidency during President Trump’s next term, but will likely be our nominee in ‘28 and serve as president for the next eight years following President Trump’s term,” said Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who speaks to Trump regularly.

One Republican strategist close to Trump’s campaign said each candidate comes with their own set of baggage: “There’s no one that checks every single box that they’re looking for.” Britt, for one, had a widely panned State of the Union rebuttal, Noem just made a strange advertisement for veneers, and several hopefuls have come across to Trump as too eager, according to two people close to Trump.

Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said Trump “will choose the best possible person for the job and someone who will fight for America First values.”

Trump is expected to make his decision before the Republican nominating convention in July. But it is likely not imminent, and his campaign faces some calendar restraints. Trump will be preoccupied with court appearances for a month this spring.

Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign has turned the running mate selection process into a vehicle for their fundraising emails.

As one such email read recently: “Want to know who my VP will be?”

Adam Wren contributed to this report.