President Joe Biden poor discussion performance not least Donald Trump’s announcement of his long-awaited vice-presidential nomination capture pattern.
Break, which includes a A relentless cycle of bad news for Bidenit also gave Trump an opportunity to test perhaps the biggest decision of his bid to return to the White House.
Trump admitted as much as Monday night. Two weeks later he told reporters that he made his decision, he This was reported by Sean Hannity from Fox News he was still weighing his options. Trump said the debate — and the uncertainty over whether Biden would be the Democratic nominee — emerged as a last-minute factor in his deliberations.
“I haven’t made a final decision, but I have some ideas about where we’re going to go,” Trump said in a phone interview for Hannity’s prime-time show. “And a little bit, you know, honestly, we wanted to see what they were doing. Because, you know, it can make a difference. I do not know. “I’m not sure if that will happen, but there are those who say that Trump is waiting until he finds out what’s going to happen with crooked Joe Biden, and we’ll see what happens with Biden.”
On Tuesday, Trump’s speech continued with a rally in Doral, Florida, where he delivered more scathing insults. Vice President Kamala HarrisIf Biden drops out, who could be his general election opponent?
The location also fueled speculation that Trump would choose Sen. Marco Rubio, who has a political base close to Miami and who has emerged as a finalist like Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota.
Rubio addressed the rally audience two hours before Trump took the stage, not long after Trump’s campaign sent out a fundraising email saying his announcement might be at the event.
Although Trump playfully hinted at the speculation, it never happened.
“I think they probably think I’m going to announce that Marco is going to be vice president because it’s a lot of press,” Trump said at one point.
Questions about Biden’s ability to serve another four years dominated the political landscape after his June 27 debate with Trump in Atlanta. Biden, 81, was hoarse and jawless and appeared to lose his train of thought at times during the 90-minute event.
There are some Democrats He called on Biden to step aside as the party’s presidential nominee, while others say he needs to do more to demonstrate that he can defeat the 78-year-old Trump in a 2020 rematch. Other conversations focused on how Biden might be replaced and who might replace him. Harris and a crop of Democratic governors have been mentioned as alternatives if Biden declines his re-election bid.
Trump’s comments to Hannity hinted that his decision could now be swayed by the possibility of running against a politically weakened Biden or an entirely new Democratic ticket. A candidate that makes sense for a race against Biden and Harris may make less sense in a race against Harris or someone else who appeals to a particular constituency.
At the Florida rally, Trump focused more on Harris, whose name he has repeatedly mispronounced, than he has in campaign speeches, portraying him as a left-wing ally of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and arguing that he performed poorly as Biden’s running mate. Trump also suggested that Biden would stay in the race because Democrats would not want to run against Harris at the top of the ticket.
“If Joe had picked someone even halfway competent, he would have been fired years ago,” Trump said. “But they can’t because he has to be their second choice.”
A source close to Trump on the selection process did not believe Biden’s failure changed the calculus of who would be elected, the source said Tuesday.
Another Republican who spoke to Trump about the vice presidential selection process said, “I don’t think that’s part of it, and I haven’t heard that that’s the plan. I think they have an idea of what they want to do and will stick to that process.”
Meanwhile, senior Trump adviser Brian Hughes offered the same written response he’s given to previous stories about the search for a running mate — “Anyone who tells you they know who or when President Trump will pick his vice president, unless it’s Donald J. Trump , is lying. .”
Ohio State Sen. Vance, a Republican closely associated with Trump’s world, said he has the best job to do in any scenario the GOP ticket may face.
“Everything I see and believe is there [Democrats] It would go with Kamala and a Midwestern governor like Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to share candid observations. “Someone like JD actually expands the map, and that’s the flip side of the idea that he can go to someone like Kamala and Shapiro and solidify the blue wall. So in that regard, he might be the only one who really adds something interesting, and given who he is and how he communicates, you could see him just lighting the barn on fire.
The source said Rubio is helping appeal to Latino voters, but the campaign is confident of its chances in Arizona and Nevada, states with large Hispanic populations.
“Doug Burgum is safe, as many have said,” the source said. “It doesn’t really do anything, it doesn’t help you, it doesn’t hurt you. He kind of lets Trump shine.”
Others see it as a selling point for Burgum.
Rubio and Vance, said a former top adviser who is close to him and remains close to him and discussed the search for a running mate with him. Burgum, an independently wealthy former tech executive, “has done things as a governor, as an executive, and I think one thing that really appeals to Trump about Burgum is that he’s not doing it for the money or the fame. “
While Biden gave several interviews and made several campaign appearances after the debate as part of an effort to calm jittery Democrats, Trump kept a relatively low profile until Monday’s call to Hannity. As a Trump adviser said Tuesday, campaign officials were eager to stay out of Biden’s way when he was writing crude headlines.
Trump told Hannity he wanted to wait until next week’s Republican National Convention to announce his choice — sticking to a timeline he has long favored.
“I think probably within the next week,” Trump said, referring to his running mate’s introduction. “I would like to do it during the congress. “My people say it’s a bit complicated.”
A source close to Trump’s world said Trump is enjoying the tension and “theatre” surrounding his election and is likely thinking “how to use the moment to have the greatest impact.”
“With all the craziness going on with Biden, it was hard to predict that you would actually get through,” the source said. “He could have chosen Jesus Christ and you’re not going to throw a punch now.
“I take him at his word last night, he really wants to do this at the convention,” the source added. “I think he wants to do it outside of WWE, where there’s smoke and a black screen and then the guy shows up, because that would be good TV.”