Former President Donald Trump said he’s made up his mind on who he’ll select as his vice presidential nominee – but hasn’t told the Republicans vying for the position his decision yet.
When asked by a reporter on Saturday if he had decided on his pick for vice-president, Trump replied: “In my mind, yeah.” Asked if anyone knew his selection, he said, “No, nobody knows.”
Trump said during a stop on Saturday at a cheesesteak restaurant in Philadelphia that his running mate would be attending next Thursday’s presidential debate in Atlanta, according to an NBC News reporter at the event.
Many of the top vice presidential contenders – including North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, and Senator JD Vance of Ohio – are expected to attend a watch party hosted by Trump’s campaign.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has previously said he would announce his choice at or shortly before the Republican National Convention, which begins July 15 in Milwaukee.
But Trump may decide to make the announcement earlier, in part to distract from coverage of his July 11 sentencing on 34 felony counts in a New York hush money case.
The campaign has ratcheted up preparations for after Trump’s running mate is chosen. It has rented a private jet for the vice presidential candidate between July to November, according to a person who requested anonymity to discuss the efforts.
The choice will be a major decision for the former president, who is seeking to expand his electoral coalition amid public opinion polls that show voters were disappointed with both candidates.
Trump broke with Mike Pence after his former vice-president announced that he didn’t believe he had the constitutional authority to block certification of Trump’s loss to Biden in 2020.
Democratic incumbent president Joe Biden and his predecessor are all but guaranteed to face off on November 5 in a rematch of the 2020 presidential election, after both achieved the required number of delegates to be nominated as candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively.
Biden, 81, is running with current Vice-President Kamala Harris, who, like him, is struggling with poor popularity ratings. Trump, 78, has been letting speculation run wild for months as to who he will pick as his running mate.