Donald Trump Veepstakes enter home stretch after Atlanta debate
CHESAPEAKE, Va. - Now that the first debate is over, the Donald Trump running mate race heads into overdrive.
A bevy of potential Republican vice presidential candidates flocked to the Atlanta debate to carry the flag for Trump and to denounce President Joe Biden - all amid news reports that the presumptive GOP 2024 nominee could announce his decision any day now.
"He's told some people, yeah," Lara Trump, the former president's daughter-in-law and a co-chair of the Republican National Committee, told Tom Llamas of NBC News.
The Trump debate surrogate list included the most often mentioned possibilities: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and Sens. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Tim Scott of South Carolina, and Marco Rubio of Florida.
"We'll know who it is at some point in the next two weeks," Rubio said in a post-debate interview on CNN.
Burgum, like the others, buttered up Trump and bashed Biden. The North Dakotan said in an NBC interview that Trump had a "very strong performance," while Biden had "challenges ... just delivering a message."
On the social media platform X, Vance said "Trump has so much more energy and clarity than Biden, it’s just an insane contrast"
Trump, who holds a day-after-the-debate rally on Friday in southeastern Virginia, has said he wanted to unveil his running mate just before or during the Republican convention in Milwaukee on July 15-18.
In recent days, Trump and his aides have been more equivocal about the timing.
"We'll make a decision fairly soon and I think people will be very happy with this decision," Trump told Newsmax in an interview broadcast Tuesday.
Trump and his aides have also pointed out that there is always the possibility of a surprise.
At the Atlanta debate, the campaign's debate surrogate list included several longshot GOP candidates, including businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former housing secretary Ben Carson, and Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Elise Stefanik of New York.
“I’m honored to have my name in the mix,” Stefanik told reporters after the Trump-Biden debate. “I’m proud to be a good friend of President Trump."
Ramaswamy told reporters he isn't sure he will be Trump's guy.
"He has not asked me to be his vice president," he told reporters. "Whoever he asks is going to have, I think, a remarkable ability to serve this country in taking that America First agenda even further."
Another possible VP aspirant, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, is scheduled to appear with Trump at his rally Friday in Chesapeake, Va.
Youngkin was not spotted in Atlanta, nor were other longshots.
Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told USA TODAY that she was staying in Alabama: "I'm looking forward to watching President Trump win tonight's debate as he outlines his vision to restore secure borders, safe streets, stable prices, and strong families."
Another vice presidential tryout
All the vice presidential contenders who trekked to Atlanta gave television interviews and appeared in the media "spin room" to praise Trump's performance and denigrate Biden - the latest episode in the "Apprentice"-style contest supervised by Trump.
Throughout the campaign year, aspiring vice presidents have gone on television, used social media, attended fundraisers, and spoken at campaign events to tout Trump.
The auditions have yielded news leaks and reams of stories about who is up and who is down. Trump and his people are all too happy to build the suspense.
On Tuesday, two days before the debate, senior adviser Chris LaCivita mocked a news report that the vice presidential announcement "could come as early as this week."
"Someone remind me to tweet this story on Friday," LaCivita said on the social platform next week.
The social media campaign
In the run-up to the Atlanta debate, social media users pushed their own favorite vice presidential candidates. Ramaswamy received much online support.
In some cases, Trump allies used social media to shoot down possible contenders.
Former presidential son Donald Trump, Jr. hit reports that some Republican donors are still pushing for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who mixed it up with Trump quite frequently during the Republican primaries.
On X, the younger Trump said: "Nikki Haley, who served as the puppet of Democrat billionaires and warmongerers, would be a wonderful choice (if) my dad wants to get impeached within about 7 seconds of being sworn in. She's they're last hope!"
The campaign's official on-the-record statement remains: "Anyone telling you they know who or when President Trump will choose his VP is lying unless that person is named Donald J. Trump."
The statement also underscores the importance of the pick: That Trump is looking for "a strong leader who will make a great President for eight years after his next four-year term concludes."
Trump went down this road this road during his first presidential campaign in 2016.
Back then, after a string of news leaks and speculation, Trump selected Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate.
Trump finally announced his selection - by tweet - on July 15, the Friday before the Monday opening of the convention. The two had a formal announcement that Saturday.
In his Newsmax appearance this week, the interviewer - former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski - cited specific names like Vance and Burgum.
"I could take any one of these people," Trump said. "They're great. We have a great bench."
Contributing: Maya Homan in Atlanta.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump's vice presidential contenders flock to Atlanta debate
