Former U.S. President and Republican Trump's running mate, that is, the vice presidential candidate, may appear in the first candidate TV debate of the presidential election on the 27th. Trump recently revealed that he has made up his mind who his deputy will be, but "no one knows" who it is, including the deputy himself.
Mr. Trump has said he is most interested in whether the vice presidential candidate will be able to "take over" after he completes his second term. And the media speculates about who Trump will "team up" with based on the strength of "gold absorption", debate ability, and whether he will steal the limelight too much——
On February 24, in National Harbor, Maryland, Trump, USA, speaks at a meeting of conservative political action. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Aaron)
They may have a "play"
U.S. media have framed a number of potential vice presidential candidates: North Dakota Governor Doug Bergham, Ohio Senator James David Vance, and Florida Senator Marco Rubio.
Bergham, 67, is a two-time governor of North Dakota. The Associated Press said Mr. Trump likes the rich, Mr. Burgham ran a software company before becoming governor and was bought by Microsoft for more than $1 billion, as well as a job in real estate and venture capital. He is the most visible supporter of Trump, appearing on television and accompanying him in fundraising.
Vance used to make his fortune on venture capital and is now under 40 years old. Despite his political credentials, he is one of Trump's most vocal defenders of Trump's "Make America Great Again" proposition, especially in the areas of foreign policy, trade and immigration policy.
Rubio, who was highly anticipated in the 2016 presidential election, now has a strong voice in the Republican Party on foreign and national security policy. He is in his 50s, Cuban-American, speaks Spanish and is good at debate.
On July 13, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., Rubio was surrounded by reporters after attending a meeting. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Shen Ting)
As for who will be Trump's deputy and when the candidate will be announced, the Trump campaign has repeatedly said that only Trump himself has the final say.
Mr. Trump said over the weekend that his partner would be present in his first "war of words" with the incumbent president, Democrat Joe Biden. The debate will be held at CNN's Atlanta studio on the 27th local time.
The rich, the newcomer and the old rival
The three potential candidates for Trump's deputy have their own strengths. In a way, Bergham bears a resemblance to Vice President Pence under Mr. Trump: conservative, uncontroversial and not well-known at home. He can help Trump "attract money" and is not very good at stealing the limelight from Trump.
Vance is a representative of a new generation of conservatives, a rising star in the party. If he is elected as his deputy, he may inject young power into the election, and the confrontation with Biden's running mate, the current Vice President Harris, is bound to be fierce in the future debate.
As for Rubio, The Hill reports that he could help Trump attract more moderate Republicans who remain skeptical, as well as some minority voters.
All three potential candidates had opposed Mr. Trump before reversing in favor of him.
This is July 16, 2016, when Trump speaks at a campaign event in New York, USA. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Muzi
Burgham has tried to challenge Trump for the Republican nomination in this presidential election, but it has not attracted much attention. Then he chose to support Trump and build momentum for Trump on different occasions, and the two became closer.
Vance once criticized Trump in 2016 as a "complete liar" and "Hitler of the United States", and later changed his words to say that Trump's performance in power after his election changed his mind.
Rubio, one of Mr. Trump's top contenders for president in 2016, criticized each other for the Republican nomination, but he has since switched to Mr. Trump. In contrast to Burgham and Vance, Rubio has a relatively distant personal relationship with Trump and has rarely been seen in public.
This deputy is not easy to be
According to the Associated Press, when Trump's running mate or even vice president is under great pressure, he needs to "show loyalty" to Trump at any time. During Trump's presidency, he and Vice President Mike Pence were originally close, but at the end of his term, Trump tried to pressure Pence to use his position as president of Congress to interfere in the results of the 2020 presidential election, and the two drifted apart after being refused. Pence has made it clear that he will not support Trump in the 2024 presidential election in the United States.
Then-President Donald Trump (right) and Vice President Mike Pence prepare to speak on a tax reform bill passed by Congress at the White House in Washington, D.C., December 20, 2017. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yin Bogu
Mr. Trump has said that his election of a deputy would first consider whether the man would be able to succeed him after his second term.
According to media analysis, Trump's election of his deputy will also consider other factors, including how strong he is in fundraising, how well he is present in front of the camera, whether he can beat Harris in debate, and whether the vice president will steal the limelight during his tenure if Trump wins.
However, Trump himself deliberately downplayed the influence of the vice presidential candidate on the outcome of the election. He said at an event earlier this year that the choice of deputy had no effect on the outcome of the election, and that it depended on who the president was. The Republican National Convention will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in mid-July, where delegates from across the country will formally nominate Republican presidential and vice presidential candidates.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
Reporter: Ma Xiao Xiong Maoling