A Quick And Dirty Guide To Donald Trump’s Short List Of Vice Presidential Picks

Any day now, Donald Trump is hinting he’s going to announce his running mate in the 2024 presidential election. He told reporters last weekend that he’s made his decision and that this person will be in attendance at Thursday’s presidential debate. The televised debate will be the first between Trump and President Joe Biden in the 2024 election cycle.

Here’s a quick and dirty overview of the people on Trump’s short list for vice president, and what each could bring to his ticket.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum

Burgum is rich. The two-term governor is worth at least $100 million. He made lots of money after selling a software company to Microsoft in 2001 for more than $1 billion.

He’s also the least familiar name on Trump’s shortlist. You may not even remember that Burgum ran against Trump in the GOP primaryfor president this year. His campaign went nowhere despite his throwing more than $12 million of his own money into it. As a candidate, Burgum said he’d never want to do business with Trump because “you’re judged by the company you keep.”

Nevertheless, he’s since thrown his support behind Trump and has gone on TV to make nonsensical claims about Biden being a dictator. Burgum was also one of several Republicans who made the trek to New York City last month just to be seen on camera looking mad, standing outside of the courthouse hosting Trump’s criminal trial.

If Trump chooses Burgum, he’ll get a vice presidential pick who is extremely wealthy and relatively uncontroversial. The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board on Wednesday urged Trump to pick Burgum, citing his business experience. But this ticket, with two rich older white men on it, would do little to broaden Trump’s appeal in diverse communities. Burgum is 67; Trump is 78.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)

Stefanik is the only woman on Trump’s short list. She is currently the chair of the House Republican Conference and is perhaps best known for dramatically transforming herself from a relative moderate into a diehard Trump loyalist.

For years, the New York congresswoman operated as more of a centrist and an institutionalist. Before being elected in 2014, she worked in the White House under President George W. Bush. She was an aide to former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). She used to take issue with Trump’s extremism, once describing him as “a whack job.”

But after Trump became president, she changed. Stefanik aggressively defended him during his impeachment hearings in 2019, a calculated move that drew national attention and earned praise from Trump. She joined far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) in introducing resolutions to undo both of Trump’s impeachments. She fueled his dangerous lie about the 2020 election being stolen from him. She was one of the 147 Republicans who voted to overturn the election hours after the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.

If Trump picks Stefanik, a Harvard College alum, she could potentially help him win over suburban women and college-educated voters who went for Biden in 2020. She’d also bring youth to the ticket as Trump and Biden face scrutiny over their advanced ages. At 39, Stefanik is exactly half of Trump’s age. Vice President Kamala Harris is 59.

But Stefanik may not appeal to female voters, given her strong opposition to abortion rights, a top issue in voters’ minds ahead of November — and a driving factor in voters overwhelmingly turning out at the polls for Democrats ever since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022. There’s also the problem that Trump may not trust her.

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio)

Vance is best known for his popular 2016 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” about growing up in poverty with his Kentucky family that relocated to Ohio. He’s only been in the Senate for a couple of years — he was elected in 2022 — but he’s been aggressively vying to be Trump’s VP pick.

Before coming to the Senate, Vance openly condemned Trump. He described himself as “a Never Trump guy,” and said he considered supporting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016 because Trump was “noxious” and “reprehensible.” At one point, Vance wondered if Trump was “America’s Hitler.”

But like Stefanik, the Ohio Republican refashioned himself into a staunch defender of Trump once he became president. Vance has said he regrets his criticism of Trump and is regularly on TV supporting Trump’s agenda, particularly on foreign policy.

If Trump taps Vance, he’d bring a millennial to the ticket (Vance is 39), which could help him appeal to younger voters. He’d also have a running mate who could connect his story of growing up poor in rural Ohio to working-class voters in key swing states. Of course, Trump would have to get over Vance’s previously harsh criticisms of him, and this week The Wall Street Journal panned Vance as a “political opportunist.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)

Rubio, 53, has name recognition as a two-term senator and a former presidential candidate in 2016. He is currently the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Rubio and Trump assailed each other in the 2016 presidential primary in an increasingly childish tit-for-tat. Trump constantly referred to Marco as “Little Marco” and made fun of him for drinking lots of water during speeches. Rubio called Trump a “con artist” and suggested he had a small penis.

If Trump taps Rubio, he could broaden his appeal among Latino voters, as Rubio is the son of Cuban immigrants and fluent in Spanish. He’d also get someone who is nationally known and has an established legislative record.

But Trump could run into legal problems if he picks Rubio, as the Constitution says two candidates from the same state can’t run for president and vice president. Trump changed his legal residency from New York to Florida in 2019. (Rubio has said he’d be willing to move to another state.)

Curiously, Rubio doesn’t seem interested in fawning over Trump like his other potential running mates. He’s been largely absent amid the flurry of GOP contenders going on TV to rave about Trump, and this week, Rubio infuriated some Fox News hosts by turning down last-minute interview requests as the network effectively runs a final casting call for Trump.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.)

Scott, 58, is the Senate’s lone Black Republican senator. Like Burgum, he was also previously a presidential contender in the GOP primary.

The South Carolina senator criticized Trump during the primary for not supporting a federal abortion ban, but he largely avoided attacking him directly.

After bowing out of the race, Scott made it clear early on that he was sticking with Trump. When it came down to endorsing former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the last Republican challenger to stay in the primary, versus Trump, he went with Trump.

If Trump picks Scott, it could help him make inroads with Black voters and energize conservative Christians. Scott, a preacher’s son, regularly talks about his faith and how he identifies as a Christian “above all other things.”

Scott has been aggressively courting Trump in a pitch to be his running mate, between lots of TV hits to praise the GOP presidential hopeful and launching a $14 million outreach campaign aimed at minority voters.

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.)

Donalds is the lone Black member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. He’s only been in Congress for two terms, but he’s considered a rising star among far-right Republicans, who repeatedly put his name forward to be House speaker during the GOP’s ugly fight to fill the seat last year.

Before Trump was president, Donalds criticized him on social media. In one 2011 post, he wrote, “Trump won’t run. Thank God!” In another, he called out Trump for his bogus claims about former President Barack Obama not being American.

But these days, Donalds, 45, has been all over television defending Trump. He called on the Supreme Court to “step in” after Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He’s accused Biden of leaving the U.S.-Mexico border “wide open.”

If Trump taps Donalds, it could help broaden his appeal among Black voters and younger voters. But, like Rubio, Donalds would have to potentially move out of Florida to be Trump’s running mate, per the Constitution. And he’s generated some of his own controversies, including his claim that Black families were more “together” during Jim Crow.

Former Housing Secretary Ben Carson

Like Rubio, Carson is already a known entity. He was a neurosurgeon before entering politics, when he ran for president against Trump in 2016. But there seems to be no bad blood: He went on to serve as Trump’s secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2017 to 2021 and clearly has earned his trust.

At 72, Carson wouldn’t exactly help Trump energize young voters. But if Trump picks him as his running mate, it could help him make inroads with Black voters.

A problem with Carson is his tendency to make strange and controversial claims. And for many, his legacy as HUD secretary is defined by his efforts to hollow out the agency, deny LGBTQ+ people access to shelters and to weaken the Fair Housing Act.