There has been rampant media speculation for months about who former President Donald Trump is considering to be his 2024 running mate, and while he has occasionally dropped a few hints about particular attributes he is looking for, those clues have not been sufficient to reveal who his final choice may be.
That might be because, according to multiple unnamed sources, Trump's vice presidential shortlist is "very long" and constantly "in flux" as various candidates rise and fall in the rankings on any given day, CNN reported.
The unconfirmed report was based on conversations with "multiple" anonymous sources who've purportedly "been briefed on the matter or have spoken to the former president about it."
According to CNN's report last week, the names currently near the top of former President Trump's ever-changing VP shortlist include Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and J.D. Vance (R-OH) along with Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake, former Housing Sec. Ben Carson, and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), with Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem also earning serious consideration.
Trump is reportedly considering about a dozen potential candidates for the VP position and frequently floats different names in conversations with advisers, donors, members of his Mar-a-Lago club, and supporters at his campaign events, typically as a way to gauge people's reactions.
One unnamed adviser told the outlet of Trump, "One day he is trashing someone, and the next day he is asking allies about that person as vice president. Sometimes he’s just curious what people think of them."
CNN noted that its sources said Trump has not yet made a final decision on who his VP pick will be and also revealed an ongoing debate within the campaign about when Trump's choice should be revealed, with some arguing he should announce early to boost his fundraising efforts while others argue he should wait, perhaps even until the GOP convention, so that he can build more suspense and draw more attention to the formal nominating event.
Except for the recent addition of Sen. Rubio to the Trump VP discussion, most of the names mentioned in the CNN report have been included in the potential running mate conversation for months, though those individuals certainly aren't the only ones under consideration by the former president.
Just one day before that report, CBS News published its own list of likely candidates based on anonymous sources that, aside from some of those mentioned by CNN, also included names like North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who didn't criticize Trump during his own failed campaign and immediately endorsed the former president after he dropped out, and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served loyally as Trump's White House press secretary for several years.
Still others thought to be in the running, according to an Axios report earlier in March, include business entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL).
One more possibility, per NBC News, is former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), who previously denounced the Democratic Party, declared herself politically independent, and has been increasingly espousing conservative-leaning views over the past year or two.
It has been said that, far more so than media pundits and even pollsters, bettors who wager their own money in the various betting markets have a keener sense of who will win different political competitions, which led to a recent update from Newsweek about who was viewed by bettors as bookies as having the most favorable odds to be former President Trump's VP pick.
Topping that list as of last week was Sen. Scott, followed by Gov. Noem, with former Rep. Gabbard, incumbent Rep. Stefanik, and former Sec. Carson rounding out the most likely top five to be Trump's running mate.
To be sure, there are a few other prominent Republicans who've occasionally garnered mention in the Trump VP race, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, but it seems safe to presume that those two former 2024 competitors are among those that Trump has "ruled out" of consideration, per a recent Trump interview with Newsmax host Greg Kelly, due to them having not "behaved properly" toward him during their respective campaigns.
