Trump to announce his VP choice at RNC. Who are the top contenders?

A defiant Donald Trump, having just survived an attempted assassination, enters nan Republican National Convention having not yet announced his vice statesmanlike prime — but he said he’d make that prime Monday.

It remains unclear whether nan shooting Saturday astatine his Pennsylvania rally has changed nan erstwhile president’s reasoning astir his imaginable second-in-command. He told Fox News Channel big Bret Baier successful a telephone that he planned to make his prime Monday.

After nan shooting, Trump’s prime carries considerably much gravity. If a slug had struck conscionable a small spot to nan right, Trump apt would person been killed aliases earnestly injured.

The adjacent telephone puts successful stark alleviation nan value of a position that is simply a heartbeat distant from nan presidency. Trump has many times claimed that choosing personification who was qualified to return complete arsenic commandant successful main was his apical information for nan role.

“You request personification that tin beryllium bully conscionable successful case, that horrible conscionable successful case,” he said successful an question and reply pinch “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show” successful May.

In an question and reply pinch Fox News’ Harris Faulkner taped hours earlier nan Butler, Pennsylvania, rally, Trump was asked astir really adjacent he was to his VP prime and whether his decision-making would alteration if President Joe Biden steps aside.

“It’s a very important position particularly if thing bad should happen,” Trump said. “That’s nan astir important, if thing bad should happen.”

Those connected Trump’s shortlist person differing levels of governing experience. Ohio Sen. JD Vance, for instance, has been successful agency little than 2 years, while North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum helms a authorities pinch a organization (780,000 people) smaller than Columbus, Ohio (908,000). Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has been successful authorities for decades and is successful his 3rd word successful nan Senate.

He’s talked astir ‘The Apprentice’ — but for VP

Before nan shooting, Trump had made clear that he wanted to dramatically uncover his prime astatine nan convention, which he said would make it much “interesting” and “exciting.”

“It’s for illustration a highly blase type of ‘The Apprentice,’” he quipped successful a power question and reply past week, referring to nan show he erstwhile hosted that featured him firing contestants connected camera.

Trump and normal organizers person said nan RNC’s schedule will spell connected arsenic planned contempt nan shooting, pinch Trump penning connected his societal media tract that he could not “allow a ‘shooter,’ aliases imaginable assassin, to unit alteration to scheduling, aliases thing else.”

“In this moment, it is much important than ever that we guidelines United, and show our True Character arsenic Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win,” he wrote.

He held meetings successful nan days earlier nan shooting pinch nan apical contenders. All person submitted material, including bios and photographs, to normal organizers that tin beryllium utilized to hole contented if they’re picked, according to aggregate group acquainted pinch nan conversations who said connected nan information of anonymity to talk nan secretive process.

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The backstage meetings pinch Vance, Rubio and Burgum were first reported by ABC News.

Nothing was offered during nan meetings, 1 of nan group said.

There’s immoderate humanities precedent for waiting until nan convention

Trump waiting until nan normal to take a moving mate is later than accustomed for caller cycles but is hardly unprecedented.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan negotiated pinch erstwhile President Gerald Ford for hours during nan Republican normal successful Detroit but settled connected his erstwhile superior rival George H.W. Bush erstwhile those discussions collapsed. Reagan trim it truthful adjacent that his determination came little than 24 hours earlier he formally accepted nan GOP nomination.

Bush himself waited until nan 1988 Republican normal successful New Orleans earlier shocking galore attendees — arsenic good arsenic immoderate of nan then-vice president’s ain apical advisers — by picking little-known Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle to beryllium his No. 2, alternatively than a much established moving mate.

Since then, though, nan contented has been to prime a moving mate soon earlier nan candidate’s party’s normal opens.

In 2008, Arizona Sen. John McCain, looking for a measurement to reset his title against Democrat Barack Obama, picked little-known Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin soon earlier nan Republican normal opened successful Minnesota. He sewage a bump successful nan polls that didn’t last.

Biden, a Democrat, tapped then-California Sen. Kamala Harris arsenic his moving mate six days earlier his statement opened its convention, which was held mostly virtually owed to nan coronavirus pandemic. And Trump chose Indiana Gov. Mike Pence successful nan days earlier nan 2016 Republican normal opened successful Cleveland.

 Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Will Weissert contributed to this study from Washington.