Former President Donald J. Trump asked some of his advisers and officials direct questions as he selected his running mate. “Which Republican will be most helpful in raising funds for the rest of the presidential campaign?”
The survey reflects the evolving calculus of Trump's search for a running mate, and how his struggle to keep up with President Biden's massive fundraising may be on his mind as he considers his options. It reflects how heavy the burden is.
Mr. Trump's selection process is still in its early stages, but it is largely a matter of traditional questions such as who could become president if necessary, political calculations including the candidate's position on abortion rights, and politics. It revolves around Trumpian curiosities, such as whether the houses physically resemble each other. Thoughts on his vice president.
But Trump asked multiple people about his running mate's fundraising ability, according to three people with direct knowledge of the conversations, suggesting he is approaching the search from a new angle.
Initial feedback pointed to a handful of lawmakers and at least one deep-pocketed governor with strong donor ties. One long-term possibility with a track record of raising big money, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, was until recently a fierce rival of the president, and her name has drawn Trump's ire. may cause.
“Trump is going to want a team player and this will add value to the ticket,” said Kevin, who has maintained close ties to Trump and set Republican fundraising records. Former Speaker of the House McCarthy said. “And it's going to be important to have someone who understands this job, someone who understands the Senate and the House, because he doesn't want to waste a minute of his time in office.”
The article is based on interviews with more than a dozen Republican operatives and politicians familiar with Mr. Trump's deliberations, some of whom have ties to the nominee, and all of whom discussed private conversations. He requested anonymity to speak.
In some cases, Trump is still getting to know potential candidates.
After meeting recently at Mar-a-Lago with former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat-turned-independent and popular among conservatives, he told advisers that she was on his list of options. clarified that it should be added to
In some cases, Mr. Trump is more obsessed with the bizarre than the realistic. He has asked several people about running with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and despite recent attacks on Kennedy and the low probability of such a scenario, he has branded a “Trump-Kennedy” ticket. He said he was interested in power. Mr. Trump's campaign remains adamantly opposed to the idea, and Mr. Kennedy, who is already running for president as an independent, has said he would not consider such a proposal.
Even among Mr. Trump's advisers, it is unclear whether Mr. Trump ultimately intends to place significant emphasis on his candidates' fundraising ability or whether the recent focus is the result of an overall concern about cash. That obsession pervades both his presidential bid and his expensive legal defense in four criminal cases, further blurring the line between the two.
The former president turned to Save America PAC, one of his political fundraising vehicles, to cover about $50 million in legal fees last year. He has begun replenishing that coffers with support from the Republican National Committee, and recently inaugurated Trump allies are holding his purse strings.
Meanwhile, Trump's campaign team acknowledged that it expects to outspend Biden and the Democrats. Trump responded by raising money at a breakneck pace, despite his typical discomfort with the idea of having to ask wealthy donors for cash.
“There is no shortage of extremely talented people that President Trump could choose from,” Trump campaign spokesman Stephen Chan said. “He will make a decision at the appropriate time, when he is ready.”
If fundraising concerns further impact the vice presidential race, the path could be widened by former Republican presidential primary opponent North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and lawmakers including Haley and Rep. Aries. There is a possibility of connection. Stefanik of New York, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Tim Scott of South Carolina, and Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.
Trump has expressed interest in all but Haley as running mate. Some people say he expressed indifference when asked about Haley's participation on the ticket. To others, he tormented her with his cruel and personal criticisms of her.
Still, one of the truisms of Trumpworld is that no one is completely excluded unless they want to be excluded. Meanwhile, Haley said during his campaign that she would not be anyone's number two.
But when it comes to supplementing Trump's own fundraising ability, Haley could be an attractive choice. Haley's presidential campaign and its allies have raised more than $146 million, according to OpenSecret, which tracks campaign fundraising.
Of that amount, $14.3 million came from small donations, mostly raised online. The amount is staggering, considering her team had to find email addresses and phone numbers of donors who had not yet supported Trump.
Mr. Burgum did not raise much money during his presidential campaign, but he is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, largely due to the sale of his computer program business to Microsoft in 2001.
Mr. Trump also has a history of recruiting wealthy businessmen into his inner circle. Burgum attended a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago this month and, like Scott and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who ran for president this year, was among about 100 donors at Trump's request. gave a speech to a crowd of people. The Wall Street Journal reported.
Mr. Rubio undertook a formidable fundraising campaign for his presidential bid in 2016. And while many of those donors already support Trump, including former Marvel Entertainment chairman Isaac Perlmutter, others don't.
Norman Braman, a billionaire South Florida car dealer, and Paul Singer, founder of the hedge fund Elliott Management, were Rubio's major financial backers in 2016, and both are in this year's presidential primary. He gave money to Trump's opponents in the election. Mr. Braman supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Mr. Singer donated to Ms. Haley.
Complicating Mr. Rubio's prospects as vice president is that he and Mr. Trump are residents of the same state, potentially violating constitutional provisions.
Trump has maintained additional residences in New Jersey and New York, switching residences as president, but told the public that Rubio would have to legally move to another state to join the ticket. Ta.
Trump told these people that while it would likely be difficult for Rubio to move his family, Florida voters would be too upset to lose the former president as residents.
Mr. Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, has already begun helping Mr. Trump raise money.
Ahead of Trump's fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago this month, he called several donors to encourage them to attend. He was also one of the organizers of a fundraiser held in Greenville, South Carolina, days before the state president's event. The primary election reportedly netted the former president $6 million.
When Scott ran for president last year, donors poured $45.9 million into his campaign and its allies, about two-thirds of which came from large donations, according to Open Secrets. .
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, a longtime Scott supporter, lobbied Trump to include the South Carolina senator as a candidate. Ellison's involvement was first reported by Pac, which also noted Trump's interest in the candidate, who is a strong fundraiser.
Stefanik's donor network comes from across the conservative spectrum.
Stefanik, a former White House aide to President George W. It has received support from wealthy establishment donors. I supported Mr. Haley's candidacy for president., and Mr. Singer. She recently met with Mr. Singer to explain why she thinks Mr. Trump will win in November, and Mr. Asness hosted a small group meeting for her in his office, where she did the same. Ta.
Since vigorously defending Trump against his first impeachment in 2019, Stefanik has also cultivated relationships with donors more closely tied to Trump's conservative movement. Mr. Perlmutter has hosted fundraisers for her, along with casino magnate Steve Wynn, who privately urged Mr. Trump to consider Ms. Stefanik.
Stefanik, who replaced former Rep. Liz Cheney as chair of the House Republican Conference, has also received recent attention from donors spurred by her push to investigate anti-Semitism on college campuses. Her campaign announced this month that it had raised $7.1 million in the first three months of the year for her own reelection and other Republican causes.
Vance is close friends with Donald Trump Jr., the former president's eldest son and key political adviser, and the two attended Trump's event in Ohio for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno. Helped raise money for the rally.
Vance also has ties to Silicon Valley from his time as a venture capitalist in San Francisco for PayPal founder and billionaire Peter Thiel. Thiel was one of Trump's biggest donors in 2016 and has spent about $35 million on the Republican Party in 2022, but he has said he has no intention of getting involved in this year's presidential race. .
David Sachs, one of Thiel's top aides, donated more than $1 million to political causes in 2022. Mr. Sachs chatted with the younger Mr. Trump at a memorial service for Mr. Moreno, who was involved in Mr. DeSantis' announcement of his preliminary challenge to Mr. Trump, and Mr. Vance was also seen at a fundraiser. spent time on.
Vance and Blake Masters, an Arizona House candidate and Thiel acolyte, are exploring Silicon Valley fundraising efforts for the aging Trump, according to people familiar with the matter. The event is still in the planning stages.
