United States: Who could be Trump’s vice president?

Overview of the names that are circulating with the most insistence to land the position of vice-president.

It’s no secret: the profile of Tim Scott, an African-American senator from South Carolina, appeals to the former Republican president. Donald Trump continues to praise the loyalty of the fifty-year-old, a former contender for the White House. “You are a much better candidate for me than you were for yourself,” he said again during a recent meeting.

With Tim Scott as his right-hand man, Donald Trump could hope to capture votes among black voters, who largely preferred Joe Biden in the 2020 election. His detractors, however, criticize the senator for a lack of presence, particularly during debates.

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is, it must be said, completely unknown to the general public. But this is precisely what could please Donald Trump, not used to his lieutenants overshadowing him.

This sixty-year-old made his fortune as the boss of a software publisher, which he sold to Microsoft for more than a billion dollars. Before running for the head of one of the least populated states in the country, neighboring Mount Rushmore, where the faces of former American presidents are carved in granite.

As governor, Doug Burgum enacted one of the nation’s strictest laws against abortion, a decision that could come to haunt him in this presidential campaign where the issue of voluntary terminations of pregnancies is highly sensitive.

He was not always a fan of Donald Trump, something the former Republican president keeps telling him. But be careful not to bury JD Vance too quickly.

This 39-year-old former soldier, known for having published a successful book on white America, only recently entered politics. And the profile of this senator from Ohio is very attractive in Republican circles, in particular thanks to his ability to raise fortunes for his party. The windfall is significant in a country where political victories are won with billions of dollars.

Between Donald Trump and Marco Rubio, it hasn’t always been mad love either. The Florida senator faced the real estate mogul in the 2016 Republican primaries, a vote in which he openly mocked the size of Donald Trump’s hands and complexion.

But the two men seem to have since buried the hatchet. Donald Trump knows that he will be able to benefit from the profile of this 53-year-old elected official, very involved in geopolitical issues, and who could attract him valuable support among the Hispanic electorate. However, part of the hard right has never forgiven him for his migration reform project, presented more than ten years ago.

The names of New York elected official Elise Stefanik, former Housing Minister Ben Carson and Senator Tom Cotton are also circulating, but their chances appear limited for the moment. Just like those of entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, elected official Byron Donalds, or former presenter Kari Lake.

Asked by AFP, Donald Trump’s entourage refused to give details on the profile preferred by the septuagenarian candidate.

“Anyone who claims to know who President Trump will choose as vice president, or when, is lying,” his adviser, Brian Hughes, said in a statement. “Unless that person’s name is Donald Trump.”