Trump appears onstage alongside likely VP contenders at Mar-a-Lago
Donald Trump hosted the Republican National Committee’s spring meeting this past weekend — highlighted by the former president inviting several of his potential vice presidential picks on stage and heaping praise on them.
The Mar-a-Lago donor retreat featured North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Tim Scott of South Carolina and JD Vance of Ohio — all of whom are reported to be top contenders for the No. 2 spot on the GOP ticket.
Trump also singled out other top party allies, including Reps. Jim Banks of Indiana, Byron Donalds of Florida, Wesley Hunt of Texas, Elise Stefanik of New York and Michael Waltz of Florida.
The 45th president has declined to say whom he is seriously considering for the position, but the weekend retreat represented another opportunity for one of the large number of hopefuls to separate themselves.
Trump said last week he would make his VP announcement closer to the Republican National Convention, which is scheduled to run July 15-18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Some who were present at Mar-a-Lago have been ruled out of the veepstakes, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and biotech mogul Vivek Ramaswamy.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said in February he would not be interested in being Trump’s running mate, was notably not present.
Trump, 77, was careful to not single out anyone for particular praise, and spoke positively of nearly everyone who joined him on stage Saturday.
“His name is coming up a lot for vice president!” Trump said of Rubio, according to audio obtained by Axios.
About Scott, the former president said: “As a candidate he did a good job, but as a surrogate he’s unbelievable.”
On Vance: “He wasn’t a supporter of mine at the very beginning … anyways I got to know him a little bit … As a non-politician, he’s become one of the great senators.”
On Burgum: “I didn’t know this: He was a supporter of my two campaigns. He’s a very rich man.”
On Noem: “Somebody that I love. She’s been with me, a supporter of mine and I’ve been a supporter of hers for a long time. “
On Stefanik: “A very smart person. She was in upstate New York when I met her … little did I know she would be such a big factor.”
And on Donalds: “Somebody who’s created something very special politically … I like diversity. Diversité, as you would say. I like diversité. [Donors] worth millions of dollars … all want a piece of Byron.”
When reached for comment by The Post, the Trump campaign cited a readout of the RNC meeting, which does not mention anything about his GOP allies other than them being at the meeting.
Trump also stressed once more this past weekend that he’s happy with House Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership despite calls for his ouster from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
“Speaker Johnson joined President Trump on stage and the President cited Speaker Johnson for his leadership and work in the US House,” the RNC readout read. “He emphasized the need for party unity, collaboration, and expanding the GOP’s House Majority.”
