Former President Donald Trump (R) spoke to Fox News following his closed-door meetings with House and Senate Republicans on Thursday. During that conversation, Aishah Hasnie questioned the former president on who would potentially appear as the VP on the Trump ticket.
Since the Iowa Caucuses, Trump has stated that he already knew who would receive the coveted nod but has kept his cards close to his chest. When asked if his VP pick was in one of the closed-door meetings, he stated:
"Probably. I don't want to go, but I think (it) will probably get announced during the convention," Trump said. "During the convention. There were some good people and, we have some very good people."
According to Forbes, the shortlist for VP includes the names of Senators J.D. Vance (R-OH), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), and Tom Cotton (R-AR), as well as Representatives Byron Donalds (R-FL) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY). Governor Doug Burgum (R-ND) and former Trump HUD Secretary Ben Carson (R) appear on the list as well.
If President Trump was, in fact, showing one of his cards and his next VP was in one of the closed-door meetings, then that means there is a one-in-three chance that Trump’s VP will include someone representing the state of Florida, if Forbes’ list is accurate.
During his sit-down interview with The Floridian in May, Sen. Rubio snarked that “The only place I know I’m being considered is in the media,” adding that he had not been in contact with President Trump nor his campaign to discuss vice presidential nod.
“I’ve never spoken to Donald Trump or anyone in his campaign about it. I think there is only one person on planet Earth who knows who the VP is going to be, and he hasn’t told anyone yet. I’m in the Senate because I want to serve the country, to be Vice President is to serve the country at an even higher level, to have direct influence over decisions, input over decisions to be made at that level to be supportive of the President of the United States,” said Rubio.
In July of 2023, Rep. Donalds commented on his name appearing on the shortlist, calling it, “actually pretty cool” to be considered.
"It is actually pretty cool, obviously, because nobody really thinks about Vice President. I think it kind of happens, so that is cool," said Rep. Donalds.
Donalds added he "just wants to win" and that it would be "an honor" to be Trump's VP, but he ultimately "just wants to do [his] job" as a member of Congress.
"I just want to win. I just want to help the country and do everything I can. If [Trump] was like, 'Yeah,' as I said before, I would do it. Who wouldn't? That is like an honor. But I am trying to do my job; I am just a member of Congress; we will see what happens later," Donalds stated.
Should President Trump announce his VP during the Republican National Convention, it would occur between July 15-18.
