Inside Trump’s veepstakes: Top contender falls down shortlist — ‘Not a standout or game-changer’
WASHINGTON — South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott — long seen as the odds-on favorite to be Donald Trump’s running mate this year — is slipping in the VP race and is widely seen by people close to the presumptive Republican nominee as “extremely unlikely” to be chosen, The Post has learned.
Scott, 58, was considered the leading choice for much of the past year due to his passionate support for Trump, 77, and the possibility that he could help draw black voters into the Republican fold, a trend that polls indicate already is underway.
The mercurial Trump is expected to announce his pick sometime in the next month and could still choose Scott — but sources familiar with the situation say the chances are becoming more remote.
“I think it is extremely unlikely he will be picked,” said one insider. “You go down the list of reasons to choose a VP, and he isn’t a standout or game-changer in any category.”
“His star has become less bright, for sure,” said a second well-connected source. “Still a top five pick — but not the strongest.”
This person also warned that Scott, who has repped South Carolina in the Senate since 2013, “might not resonate with the black community in a way that’s worth putting him on the ticket.
“There are stronger options, and Tim has the potential to serve in the cabinet, so I think he’ll still play an important role.”
A third insider indicated that Scott was “still in the mix, but I suspect his biggest issue is that he’s just not very good on TV.”
A fourth told The Post that the former president “doesn’t believe that the VP matters electorally” — meaning that Scott and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, whose parents are Cuban, wouldn’t have an advantage over other contenders such as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Ohio Sen. JD Vance based on demographics alone.
In addition to the widely cited “top four” of Burgum, Rubio, Scott and Vance, there are a host of dark-horse contenders — including Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a former White House press secretary under Trump; Texas Gov. Greg Abbott; Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY); Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.); and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.
“Trump is looking for three things,” the fourth source said. “He’s looking for who can raise money, he’s looking for who is an effective surrogate on TV with adversarial media, and he’s looking at who will do the best job debating Kamala Harris.
“Tim Scott is in contention, but probably the least likely of the four. There hasn’t been any data or evidence pointing to either Tim Scott or Marco Rubio adding to Trump’s margins with minorities.”
Two additional sources said they shared the impression that the 45th president’s interest in Scott as a potential No. 2 was waning.
Other Trump advisers pointed out that the candidate “could go in any direction at any time” and that the contenders have already started jockeying for position, leading to potential biases among sources pulling for different names.
A source close to Trump who spoke positively of Scott stressed to The Post that the former president was “raving” about the senator “campaigning on his behalf” in closed-door meetings as recently as Tuesday, “saying how great of a job Tim Scott had been doing for him.”
A pro-Scott source said he and Trump speak weekly and noted both men are expected to attend a Detroit rally on Saturday. This person added that Scott has been linked in recent reporting to billionaires Ken Griffin and Bill Ackman, potentially boosting his standing with Trump.
Scott is known in Washington for having an occasionally aloof demeanor and for rarely chumming it up with the Capitol press corps.
His personality was mentioned as a possible issue in the decision-making process by some — but not all — of The Post’s sources.
The senator toured his home state in the 1990s as a promoter of abstinence until marriage, and only got engaged this past January.
Trump became known for cultivating dramatic character arcs on his long-running former NBC hit show “The Apprentice” and is widely expected to do the same in picking his latest VP candidate — with operatives and journalists long prepared for him to encourage leaks to generate suspense.
Burgum, 67, is widely believed to have risen in Trump’s estimation.
The North Dakota governor is one of America’s wealthiest officeholders and was a successful self-made businessman before his 2016 election to lead the country’s fourth-least-populous state.
Burgum’s perceived advantages include his fresh persona, lack of controversy and the fact that he’s unlikely to steal the media spotlight from Trump.
Rubio also is seen as a strong contender, in part due to the large number of Florida politicos in Trump’s campaign.
However, skeptics note that Democrats are likely to dredge up Rubio and Trump’s history as rivals in the 2016 presidential campaign — during which Rubio claimed the real estate mogul couldn’t be trusted because he had “small hands,” implying that Trump was lacking in other physical attributes.
Vance, who also had unflattering words for Trump in the past, benefits from his close relationship with Donald Trump Jr. and is touted by allies as having views consistent with the ex-president’s populist messaging.
Trump senior adviser Brian Hughes told The Post that only Trump knows whom he will pick, making all horserace reporting on the matter “inaccurate.”
“Senator Scott is a respected leader and very strong supporter of President Trump,” Hughes said. “Any speculation of the likelihood of the senator or any other possible choice is inaccurate because anyone claiming to know who or when President Trump will choose his VP is lying, unless the person is named Donald J. Trump.”
Scott spokesman Nathan Brand said Scott believes “this election is about creating opportunity, growing the party and saving the American dream, regardless of who is on the ticket.”
“[Scott] and President Donald Trump partnered on significant legislative victories like tax cuts, HBCU funding and Opportunity Zones,” Brand said. “The senator has never thought of adding value in terms of race, but in terms of actually passing good policy and reaching new voters. And he plans to do everything he can on the campaign trail and during the next Trump administration to continue protecting the American dream.”
