TRUMP AND THE VANCE CALCULATION. Milwaukee — Former President Donald Trump once privately told associates that the problem he faced selecting a running mate was that the field of possible partners did not include a no-brainer — a candidate whose appeal was so strong, so obvious, and so broad that he or she would have been a consensus pick that Trump could make without agonizing deliberations. Not having that no-brainer meant Trump would have to choose between less-than-perfect possibilities. On Monday afternoon at the Republican National Convention here in Milwaukee, he announced his choice: Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH).
Trump was tremendously successful in keeping his selection a secret. Modern political conventions don’t have much drama — by 4 p.m. on the first day, the delegates had voted and declared Trump the 2024 GOP nominee, which was its big job for the week. Trump likes to create drama and excitement. He kept his choice a secret until almost literally the last minute — Vance was notified that he had been selected about 20 minutes before Trump publicly announced it on Truth Social, his social media network. The other apparent finalists in the Trump selection process, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), also learned at the last minute that they had not been selected.
