After having conducted an elaborate scouting exercise, Donald Trump is all set to announce his vice-presidential running mate on Friday. By all accounts, the pick will be from among three Republican bigwigs — former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Indiana Governor Mike Pence and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
“I’m narrowing it down. I mean I’m — I’m at potentially four. But in my own mind, I probably am thinking about two,” Trump told Fox News on Wednesday. later in the day, he tweeted that he would be making the announcement in Manhattan at 11 am on Friday.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee, who wants to be done with his V-P pick before the party convention gets underway in Cleveland on Monday, held another round of interviews in Indianapolis on Wednesday. Assisting him in the process are not only key staffers, but his children as well.
“I just want to pick somebody that’s solid, who’s smart. I’m not looking for an attack dog. Frankly, I’m looking for somebody that really understands what we’re talking about,” Trump said, clarifying his earlier remarks to The Wall Street Journal.
Trump, who held a breakfast meeting with Governor Pence on Wednesday, later described him as a “high quality person”, a “wonderful guy”. later in the day, he met with Gingrich, who was specially flown in a private jet, financed by Fox News host Sean Hannity.
As for Christie, a friend of the Trumps for years and one who was the first to endorse him after ending his own presidential bid, Trump dismissed assumptions that he is off the list. He called Christie “a good guy” and “a total professional”, saying he’s “somebody I’ve liked a long time”.
Gingrich, speaking to Fox News on Wednesday night, said he believes it’s down to two contenders: him and Pence. “I suspect sometime tomorrow that Mike and I will both get phone calls and one of us will be packing our bags to go to New York and the other one will be going to watch it on TV,” Gingrich remarked, without making any mention about Christie.