President Joe Biden’s poor debate performance not only put Donald Trump’s long-awaited announcement of a vice presidential running mate on hold.
The fallout, which included a relentless cycle of bad news for Biden, also provided Trump with the opportunity to check out perhaps the biggest decision of his bid to return to the White House.
Trump acknowledged as much on Monday night. Two weeks after telling reporters he had made a decision, former President said Sean Hannity of Fox News that he was still weighing his options. Trump indicated that the debate – and the uncertainty over whether Biden will be the Democratic nominee – emerged as a last-minute factor in his deliberations.
“I haven’t made a final decision yet, but I have some ideas about where we’re going,” Trump said during a phone interview with Hannity’s prime-time show. “And a little bit, you know, we wanted to see what they’re up to, to be honest. Because, you know, it can make a difference. I don’t know. I’m not sure that would happen, but some say Trump is waiting until he finds out what happens to corrupt Joe Biden, and we’ll see what happens to Biden.”
The teasing of Trump’s launch continued Tuesday night with a rally in Doral, Florida, where he visibly aimed harsher insults at Vice President Kamala Harris, who could be his general election opponent if Biden were to step aside.
The location also fueled speculation that Trump was about to select Sen. Marco Rubio — who, along with Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio and Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, emerged as a finalist and whose political base is next door. Miami.
Rubio addressed the rally audience two hours before Trump took the stage, not long after the Trump campaign sent a fundraising email suggesting his announcement could be made at the event.
That never happened, although Trump jokingly alluded to the speculation.
“I think they probably think I’m going to announce that Marco is going to be vice president, because that’s a lot of press,” Trump said at one point.
Questions about Biden’s fitness to serve another four years have dominated the political landscape since his June 27 debate with Trump in Atlanta. Biden, 81, had a hoarse voice and a slack jaw and at times appeared to lose his train of thought during the 90-minute event.
Some Democrats have called on Biden to step aside as the party’s presidential nominee, while others have said he must do more to demonstrate he is capable of defeating Trump, 78, in a rematch of the 2020 election. replaced – and who could replace him. Harris and a number of Democratic governors have been mentioned as alternatives if Biden drops his re-election bid.
Trump’s comments to Hannity suggested that his decision could now be influenced by the possibility of running against a politically weakened Biden or an entirely new Democratic ticket. A running mate who makes sense in a race against Biden and Harris may make less sense in a race against Harris or someone who appeals to a particular constituency.
At his rally in Florida, Trump focused on Harris — whose first name he repeatedly mispronounced — more than he typically does in campaign speeches, describing her as a left-wing ally of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and asserting that she has underperformed as Biden’s vice president. Trump also suggested that Biden would remain in the race because Democrats would prefer not to run with Harris at the top of the ticket.
“If Joe had chosen someone even partially competent, they would have thrown him out of office years ago,” Trump said. “But they can’t, because she must be his second choice.”
A source close to Trump who has been in contact with him about the selection process said Tuesday that he did not believe the Biden fallout had changed the calculus about who to choose.
“I just don’t think that’s part of this and I certainly haven’t heard that that’s the plan,” said another Republican who spoke with Trump about the vice presidential selection process. “I think they have an idea of what they want to do and will continue with that process.”
Meanwhile, Trump senior adviser Brian Hughes offered the same written response he has given to previous stories about the vice presidential search — that “anyone who tells you they know who or when President Trump will choose his vice president is lying, unless that person is called Donald J. Trump. ”
A Republican who is closely tied to the Trump world said Vance, the freshman senator from Ohio, has the best argument to make in any scenario the Republican ticket might face.
“Everything I saw and believed is [Democrats] would go with Kamala and a Midwestern governor like Josh Shapiro” of Pennsylvania, added the source, who requested anonymity to share candid observations. “Someone like JD really expands the map and is a barrier to the idea that he passes to Kamala and someone like Shapiro who can go and reinforce the blue wall. So in that respect, he might be the only one who really adds something interesting, and given who he is and how he communicates, you could only see him in barn-burning states.”
Rubio helps appeal to Latino voters, the source said, but the campaign is confident about his chances in Arizona and Nevada, two swing states with large Hispanic populations.
“Doug Burgum is, as many say, safe,” the source continued. “It doesn’t really do anything, it doesn’t help you, it doesn’t hurt you. He kind of allows Trump to shine.”
Others see this as a selling point for Burgum.
Rubio and Vance “have been more rhetorical than substantive,” said a former senior Trump adviser who remains close to the former president and has discussed the vice presidential search with him. Burgum, an independently wealthy former technology executive, “has really gotten things done as a governor, as an executive, and the one thing about Burgum that I think really appeals to Trump is that he’s not doing it for the money or for the fame. ”
While Biden has given several interviews and made several campaign appearances since the debate as part of an effort to reassure nervous Democrats, Trump had kept a relatively low profile until Monday’s call with Hannity. As a Trump adviser said Tuesday, campaign officials are eager to stay out of Biden’s way as he racks up difficult headlines.
Trump told Hannity he wants to wait until next week’s Republican National Convention to reveal his pick — following a timeline that has long been his preference.
“I think probably next week,” Trump said, referring to his running mate’s launch. “I would love to do this during the convention. My people say this is a little complicated.”
Trump is enjoying the suspense and “theatricality” surrounding his pick and is likely weighing how to “seize the moment to make the biggest impact,” the source close to Trump’s world said.
“It’s hard to predict that with all the craziness that’s going on with Biden, you really can’t get over it,” the source said. “He could choose Jesus Christ, and you won’t pass now.”
“I take him at his word last night that he really wants to do this at the convention,” the source added. “I think he wants to do it like a WWE outtake, where there’s smoke and a black screen and then the person appears, because it would make good TV.”
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
