Reference News Network quoted Singapore's "Lianhe Zaobao" reported on June 23 that Trump, former US president and Republican presidential candidate, said that he had selected a vice presidential candidate. Bloomberg News quoted NBC as reporting that Trump said during a stop at a restaurant in Philadelphia on the 22nd that his running mate would participate in the first presidential televised debate in Atlanta on the 27th.
Trump has previously said he will announce his choice at or shortly before the Republican National Convention, which opens in Milwaukee on July 15. However, there are also reports that Trump may decide to announce the news in advance to divert attention from the outcome of the sentencing of the July 11 "hush money" case.
Regarding Trump's criteria for selecting his running mates, Trump's senior adviser Brian Hughes said that the first criterion for a campaign team to select a running mate is "a strong leader who can be a great president at the end of the next four years."
Judging from the current analysis and speculation of the US media, whether he is loyal, whether he can expand the supporter base, and whether he can win the "gold master" for Trump have become important criteria for Trump to choose a running mate. Trump's allies have said Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Senator James David Vance of Ohio are the most popular candidates at the moment. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that Trump may make a "surprising" choice.
As for whether Nikki Haley, who had previously competed with Trump for the party's nomination, can become Trump's running mate, some media have ruled out this possibility. USA Today reported that while Haley was able to help Trump bridge the divide within the party and attract more voters, her lack of "sufficient loyalty" was the main reason Trump ruled out Haley's vice presidential nomination because she held out in the party's primaries for a long time and kept her distance from Trump after she left the race.
Bergum: A billionaire with a good image
Judging from the analysis and speculation of many foreign media, Doug Bergum has the best chance of being nominated. Bergum's background is similar to Trump's, but it doesn't overshadow Trump's shine. In addition, Caixin pointed out in the report that in 2016, Trump chose the low-key and steady, and at the same time very politically astute, then Indiana Governor Pence as his running mate. Bergham and Pence also share similarities in their profiles and biographies.
Doug Burgum The pictures in this article are all Visual China data maps
Doug Burgum, 68, was born in Arthur, eastern North Dakota, and attended North Dakota State University and Stanford University. Bergum was the founder of Great Plains Software, a technology company, and successfully led the company to go public in 1997. In 2001, Bergum sold the company to Microsoft for about $1 billion, where he later served as senior vice president. Forbes reports that Bergum is one of the richest governors in the United States, with assets of at least $100 million. In this sense, Bergum has a similar background to Trump.
In 2016, Bergum was elected governor of North Dakota and has served two consecutive terms so far. As the leader of the Crimson State, Bergum pursued a staunchly conservative policy. In June 2023, Bergum announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, but withdrew from the nomination on December 4 of the same year.
Mr. Burgum has deep pockets, and Mr. Bergum's personal wealth and business connections are particularly important to Mr. Trump, who is currently mired in multiple lawsuits and in need of legal fees. Bergum owns and maintains good relationships with the business community, including deep-pocketed technology companies and the energy sector. Jeffery Hildebrand, the billionaire founder of Hilcorp Energy, is one of Bergum's "financiers," and there are reports that Trump wants these business giants to be funders of the campaign.
If you look at it from the perspective of character positioning, Bergum's advantage is that it will not overshadow Trump's limelight. According to Bloomberg's analysis, Trump firmly believes that he has a "star effect" and never seeks to elect a deputy who can make up for his election disadvantage. Therefore, Bergum "will never outperform Trump" and his calm and reliable personality are his greatest strengths. Philip Wegmann, a journalist for the investigative firm Real Clear Politics, and Tom Bevan, an executive at the site, made similar points on the show, arguing that Mr. Trump would prefer the future vice president to be a "team member" rather than a "partner," given that he is more focused on the next four years in office. From this point of view, Bergum's "no fight, no grab" trait may be more appealing to Trump.
Since Trump's conviction in the "hush money" case, his approval ratings among independent voters have declined. According to the latest joint poll released this month by the political news website POLITICO and the polling agency Ipsos, about 21 percent of independent voters surveyed said their willingness to support Trump has decreased after the hush money case ruling. Some analysts believe that if Bergum becomes Trump's vice presidential candidate, to a certain extent, he can win over center-right independent voters and save Trump's election among independent voters. As a conservative, Bergum has been largely mild in his approach to the principles of his policies. "We'll listen respectfully and make things clear." When announcing his candidacy for president, Bergum said so.
So far, Bergum has passed Trump's "loyalty test". For some time, Bergum has made frequent appearances on the show and various campaign events to show his loyalty to Trump. On the show, Bergum lavished praise on Mr. Trump: "This man is tireless, he's persistent, he's smart, he's funny. He is not at all what is portrayed in the media. At the same time, he has personally supported Trump's campaign and traveled from North Dakota to New York twice to participate in the "hush money" trial.
By all indications, Bergum's enthusiasm for being a running mate is extremely high. While the governor's term is unlimited, Burgum is not seeking re-election, meaning he is going all out for Trump's vice presidential nomination. A source who spoke to Mr. Bergum recently told the media that Mr. Bergum said he "just wanted a place in the Trump administration." The source also added that Bergum's statement proves that he "thinks he has a good chance" of taking the post of vice president.
Of course, Burgum also has shortcomings, his low profile and his traditional conservative style may not be able to expand Trump's supporter base, let alone help Trump attract other moderate voters. Like other candidates, Mr. Burgum has been critical of Mr. Trump, saying last year that he would not do business with Mr. Trump because "[people] will judge you based on the people you associate with." Although Bergum has retracted these criticisms, the impact of these statements is not yet known.
Vance: Best-selling author and "MAGA" spokesperson
Vance, 39, is widely regarded as the next generation of the "MAGA" movement, short for Make America Great Again.
詹姆斯·戴维·万斯（James David Vance）
Before entering politics, Vance worked in the tech industry in Silicon Valley before moving back to Ohio to start his own investment firm. In 2016, Vance rose to fame with the publication of Hillbilly Elegy. In this book, Vance explores working-class issues and the decline of the Rust Belt states, which resonates with many readers and politicians alike. With Trump's endorsement, Vance was elected to the Senate in 2023, becoming the second Ohio senator to have no government experience after John Glenn (who was elected in 1974).
Since taking office as senator in 2023, Vance has become one of the staunchest defenders of the MAGA movement and has taken a staunchly conservative stance on policy areas such as foreign policy, trade, and restrictions on immigration. After entering the Senate, Vance was largely aligned with Trump's political agenda and style.
Vance is well-connected and maintains close ties with funders in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. There are reports that Vance also used his connections in Silicon Valley to raise money for Trump in an effort to alleviate Trump's funding shortfall. In June, Vance used his connections to host a major fundraiser in San Francisco, with tech investors David Sachs and Chamas Parhapitia, co-hosts of the podcast "All-In," to lead the event.
Although Vance has less experience in governing than the other two vice presidential candidates, Vance's "young and promising" image is seen as a plus, and it is more likely to inject "millennial" energy into the campaign, given the widespread concerns among voters about the age and health of the presidential candidates. Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster, said of Vance: "He's a younger version of Trump and a better articulate one." In its report, Bloomberg noted that Vance's debating skills had "impressed" Trump.
It is worth noting that Vance and members of the Trump family maintain a close relationship. In public, Donald Trump Jr. "praises" Vance "without hesitation" and often retweets Vance's photos on social platforms. "I support you for all the reasons you say. I'd really like to see you and Kamala Harris debate the vice president. In a blog show, Trump Jr. told Vance. Mr. Trump's second son, Eric Frederick Trump, and daughter-in-law, Lara Lea Trump, have both retweeted Mr. Vance's photos in recent weeks. In contrast to Vance, Bergum and Rubio never enjoyed this treatment.
Vance's relationship with Trump is "very delicate." As previously reported, Vance in 2016 called Trump a "complete liar," a "moral disaster," and "America's Hitler." However, when the time came for the 2022 midterm elections, Vance said that Trump was "the greatest president he has ever met in his life." After gaining Trump's endorsement, Vance became a "MAGA Republican" who "went astray and eventually turned back."
Alyssa Farah Griffin, who served as White House communications director in the Trump administration, told Newsweek that Mr. Trump may not choose Mr. Vance as his running mate because he is likely to "overshadow" Mr. Trump during his vice presidency. Mitt Romney, a Republican who ran in the 2012 election, shared a similar view. Mr. Vance, he said, was "very smart" and well connected to populists in the Republican Party. "However, in Trump's view, Vance's biggest weakness is that he will be better than himself, because he [Vance] is smarter, more articulate, and more determined in his policies." Romney said.
Rubio: Can Hispanic identity pry the swing state
Rubio was born in Florida in 1971 to a family of Cuban immigrants. In 2009, Rubio announced his candidacy for the Senate. After taking office in 2011, Rubio took a generally conservative stance and was seen as one of the leaders of the Tea Party movement.
马尔科·卢比奥（Marco Rubio）
Rubio's political stance is in line with that of most Republicans, and he opposes policies supported by Democrats, such as gun control, affordable health care bills, legalizing same-sex marriage, and curbing climate change. But there are also reports that Rubio has broken with many Republicans for helping draft an immigration bill, arguing that it provides a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who meet certain conditions.
Rubio ran in the Republican primaries for the 2016 election and slammed Trump in party debates. However, after Trump was elected president, Rubio became a staunch supporter of him, and later took a more "MAGA" stance: taking a tougher stance on immigration, shifting from foreign interventionism to diplomatic isolationism, opposing aid to Ukraine, and opposing congressional investigations into the "Capitol Hill riots."
Rubio comes from a poor background, and his family background and Catholic faith can help the GOP appeal to Hispanic voters in key swing states. Alyssa Farah Griffin said Rubio would be the "most feared" vice president of the Biden campaign from an election standpoint.
According to the analysis of the New York Times, Pennsylvania is the state with the largest Hispanic population among the three states of the "Blue Wall" (editor's note: the other two states are Michigan and Wisconsin), and it is also Biden's hometown and the famous "Rust State". Given that Hispanic voters place greater importance on ethnic identity when voting and will develop a sense of pride in candidates of the same ethnicity, this pride of identity that transcends ideological and partisan preferences will help Republicans win the support of such voters.
"Obviously, he's Cuban-American, speaks Spanish, and more and more Hispanic voters are voting for the Republican Party. He has shown a broader appeal than traditional Republicans. Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, said of Rubio.
However, Fox TV analyzed in the article that Rubio seems unlikely to be Trump's running mate, citing that he attacked Trump in the 2016 election when he was running for the Republican nomination. The Associated Press noted that Rubio had called Trump a "liar" who tried to "cheat" the Republican Party and tried to taunt Trump with a body part and question Trump's manhood.
The question of residency may be another factor hindering Rubio's ascension. According to the Twelfth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Elector for the President and Vice President cannot be from the same state. Both Trump and Rubio currently live in Florida, and in a particularly scarring election, the issue of residency could cost Trump 30 electoral votes in Florida, which in turn could affect the 270 electoral votes needed for Trump to win. Of course, the problem is not unsolvable, and Rubio has said he would be willing to change his place of residence if he becomes Trump's vice presidential choice.