Has Donald Trump Finally Made A Decision About His VP Pick?

With Donald Trump’s celebrity-led Republican National Convention just one week away, the presumptive nominee doesn’t have much time left to pick his ticket’s running mate. Rumors about the political soul brave enough to board the Trump train has been rampant since February, and now that the reality television star’s nomination is all but guaranteed, he must choose someone. Rival turned surrogate Ben Carson’s implausible shortlist, past favorites may still be under consideration. But if a recent Washington Times report is accurate, then Trump may have a specific name in mind.

On Sunday, the Washington Times reported Indiana Governor Mike Pence had a “95 percent probability” of becoming Trump’s running mate. The precise number, which came from Republican National Convention rules committee and Indiana delegation member James Bopp, is based on the New York real estate mogul’s last-minute decision to host a campaign rally in Indianapolis on Tuesday. Trump was already scheduled to attend a fundraiser with Pence in the city that day, but the rally’s addition has convinced many state Republicans that their governor might be ready for the national stage. Pence downplayed the news Monday morning while speaking with reporters at a charity bike ride, but that hasn’t stopped the speculation.

Pence, who formerly endorsed Texas Senator Ted Cruz, came out late in support of Trump’s nomination after the former dropped out of the race in early May. Two months later, Trump revealed on Twitter he’d spent the Fourth of July weekend with Pence and his family in Indiana.

The governor’s profile among GOP insiders has risen dramatically with Indiana Republican Party Chairman Jeff Cardwell’s claim that Pence (and the RNC) asked him to attend Tuesday’s fundraiser (instead of leaving early for the party’s convention in Cleveland). This is relevant in light of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich campaigning for the VP spot. He even introduced Trump at a campaign stop in Cincinnati amid cheers of “Newt! Newt!” on Wednesday. The candidate never brought Gingrich back onto the stage during or after his speech, though he did tell the crowd he’d “be involved in our government.”

Then again, Gingrich hasn’t always been Trump’s most ardent supporter — especially when he dubbed the presumptive nominee’s attacks on a federal judge’s ethnicity and apparent bias as “one of the worst mistakes” he’d ever made. Add Gingrich’s surprising comments about the Dallas police shooting and Black Lives Matter, plus the Trump children’s supposed dislike of the 73-year-old career politician, and the potential VP’s case begins to falter.

As for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie — the former Republican presidential candidate who spends his time fetching McDonald’s for Trump and meeting secretly with the campaign’s vetting lawyer — he still wants the job. So much so that, aside from defending Trump’s “textbook” racism against Gingrich, Speaker Paul Ryan, and other prominent Republicans, he’s also attending events across the country with the White House hopeful. Like when the pair had lunch with Latino leaders and delivered private speeches attended by the media in Miami on Friday. Many equate such appearances with Trump (including Gingrich’s Cincinnati introduction) at rallies, fundraisers and other official campaign functions to “tryouts.”

All of this is why — after news of Pence’s newfound involvement with the Trump campaign in Indiana — Republican insiders think the Indiana governor might be the Donald’s new favorite pick for the vice presidency. And since Trump has promised to announce his choice by the convention’s July 18 start date, and Pence must remove himself from his state’s upcoming gubernatorial election by Friday, July 15, all the pieces of this complicated political puzzle seem to fit.

Whether or not Pence is the best pick for the post, however, remains to be seen. Consider the former U.S. House of Representatives member’s most famous contribution to the national discourse in recent memory, 2015’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The state legislation, which Pence signed into law on March 26, 2015, protected individuals and companies from undue financial stress due to any and all costs acquired in legal proceedings. Like, for example, a now-closed pizza shop that refused to cater an LGBT wedding. Everyone from Nick Offerman to David Letterman expressed their distaste for the law, which many saw as granting a free pass to anti-LGBT discrimination.

Despite the national outcry, Pence defended the law and repeatedly said the state wouldn’t change it. Yet the stalwart conservative caved and called upon Indiana’s general assembly to reconsider the legislation’s most controversial aspects and, if possible, ensure that it couldn’t be used in future legal proceedings as a protection for discrimination. The House voted 66-30 and the Senate 34-16 to okay the necessary changes, and after a few hours, Pence signed the changes into law.

Indiana’s brief spotlight on the national stage quickly gave way to the next public outcry, but Pence’s Republican star nonetheless faltered as a result. Which is why many pundits, reporters and personalities remain altogether cautious — let along wholly devoid of excitement — at the news of Pence’s newfound stardom.

https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/752529222183378944

https://twitter.com/jonfavs/status/752507702220165120

https://twitter.com/mattklewis/status/752470683096084480

(Via Washington Times, The Hill and CNN)