Trump heads to Pennsylvania for pre-convention rally as VP announcement looms
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump will have one last chance Saturday to unveil his vice presidential pick on a rally stage before the Republican National Convention kicks off in Milwaukee next week.
Trump’s rally in western Pennsylvania, at the Butler Farm Show just outside Pittsburgh, comes as the former reality TV star and tabloid hound continues to tease his pick, working to drum up maximum attention and hype.
With President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign and the Democratic Party engulfed in crisis over a dismal debate performance that has sparked calls for him to step aside, Trump has been keeping mostly out of the spotlight, making only a few public appearances over the last two weeks.
But that hasn’t stopped him from feeding speculation.
“It’s like a highly sophisticated version of ‘The Apprentice,’” he said in a radio interview Friday afternoon, referring to the show he once hosted that featured him firing contestants on camera.
Trump has made clear in recent days that his preference is to dramatically reveal his pick live at the convention — something the ratings-obsessed former president has said would make the proceedings more “interesting” and “exciting.”
“I’d love to do it during the convention … or just slightly before the convention, like Monday,” he said in an interview Friday on “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show.”
Other opportunities have come and gone.
At a rally Tuesday night at his Doral golf club, he at one point marveled at the number of reporters in attendance.
“I think they probably think I’m going to be announcing that Marco is going to be vice president,” he said of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a top contender, who was sitting in the front row.
Excerpts of his speech released by his campaign that night included the line, “So tonight, I am officially” — ending the sentence there. And his campaign has sent frequent fundraising emails like one with the subject line “Will I announce my VP pick in 60 mins?” before he spoke.
Saturday’s venue, in a critical battleground state, sits about an hour from the border with Ohio, home to Sen. JD Vance, one of the presumptive nominee’s top contenders — which had sparked another round of speculation.
But none of the men who are considered Trump’s top contenders — Vance, Rubio and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum — are expected to attend the rally, according to two people familiar with the schedule who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the plans.
Could he reenact ‘The Apprentice’ on a convention stage?
Most presumptive major party nominees have chosen their running mates before their respective conventions began. But both Ronald Reagan in 1980 and George H.W. Bush in 1988 waited to announce their picks at the party gatherings.
Trump has repeatedly acknowledged the challenges of waiting until the last possible moment, saying, “it makes it easier” to break the news ahead of time. But he has also spoken wistfully of the “old days” and the attention a grand unveiling would bring.
There are logistical challenges that come with a late announcement. The future pick will need to deliver the most important speech of their career at the convention Wednesday night as they accept the party’s nomination. They’ll also need to clear their schedule for rallies, events and debate preparations.
Some Trump allies have been encouraging him to wait until the convention nonetheless.
“RNC should make first night of the convention an Apprentice,” former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal posted on X. “VP live show. Trump could fire each contender not chosen one at a time.”
To that end, the RNC made a change to its rules Thursday, which is expected to be adopted Monday, that will make it easier for Trump to announce at the last minute.
Trump has also raised the idea of waiting until later in the week and pushing the announcement, he told the hosts, to Tuesday or Wednesday.
Trump has spent months now testing the field, assessing how they perform on television, at fundraisers and on rally stages. Several, including Burgum and Vance, joined him at his criminal hush money trial in New York. Others were there at the debate last month, where Biden’s disastrous performance upended his campaign, leading to widespread calls for him to step aside in favor or a younger candidate.
The crisis embroiling Democrats has given Trump little incentive to announce his pick early since it would inevitably draw attention away from Biden.
He also suggested the possibility of Biden being replaced had weighed on his thinking.
“A little bit, you know, we wanted to see what they’re doing, to be honest. Because, you know, it might make a difference,” he said in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity earlier this week.
Trump has offered conflicting answers since the primaries on whether he has made up his mind, but said Friday he had four or five top contenders.
“I have some really, really good candidates. And you know, I may be leaning one way and that changing sometimes — you know all of a sudden you see something that you like or you don’t like and you lean a little bit differently … but we have a very good bench,” he said.
Trump dishes on his reported top contenders
Each of the finalists has pluses and drawbacks.
Earlier this week, Trump was quizzed on some in a Fox News Radio interview.
Was Vance’s beard a strike against him, he was asked, following a report in The Bulwark that that was a concern?
“No, never heard that one,” the clean-shaven Trump said with a laugh. Vance “looks good. He looks like a young Abraham Lincoln.”
What about the highly restrictive limits that Burgum signed in law North Dakota banning nearly all abortions?
“Well, it’s a little bit of an issue. It’s a pretty strong ban,” said Trump. “You know, I think Doug is great, but … the state has. So it’s an issue. Everything’s an issue.”
And what about Rubio’s “Florida problem”? Would the fact that Rubio would likely have to move stop Trump from picking him?
“No, but it does make it more complicated,” he said. “There are people that don’t have that complication. Now it’s fairly easily fixed, but you have to do something with delegates or there has to be a resignation, you know, etc., etc. So it’s not like picking some people where it’s very easy, where there is none of that.”
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Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price and Will Weissert contributed to this report.