Former President Donald Trump indicated he has made up his mind about whom he would like to be his running mate should he win the Republican presidential nomination.
“Well, I can’t tell you that, really,” Trump told Fox News during a town hall in Iowa on Wednesday when the moderators asked him who is in the running to be on a presidential ticket with him. “I mean, I know who it’s going to be.”
Trump’s campaign quickly sought to downplay the remark. A campaign adviser told NBC News “nothing is finalized” about the vice presidential pick.
“He’ll announce his final pick when he’s ready to,” the adviser said.
Trump holds a significant polling edge over former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, both nationally and in the early states, in the battle for the Republican presidential nomination.
Though he faces legal peril in a series of indictments in federal and state courts — including for his role in attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election — Trump remains the odds-on favorite for the nomination.
In turn, the prospect of whom Trump might pick as a potential running mate has generated substantial interest and speculation.
Pressed again Wednesday, Trump declined to give any more clues about a potential running mate. Asked whether he would be open to mending fences with any of his remaining presidential rivals and selecting one of them to run alongside him, Trump gave an immediate shout-out to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who dropped out of the race earlier in the day.
“Well, I’ve already started to like Christie better,” Trump said, adding, however, that “I don’t see it” with regard to having him as his vice president.
Christie’s bid for president was centered on trying to take down Trump, and on Wednesday, he said that even though he’s no longer running, he will still work to ensure Trump doesn’t return to the White House.
