Trump suggests when he might make VP pick as these four contenders reportedly emerge

Politics

City Diana Glebova

Former President Donald Trump has laid out the most concrete timeline yet for when he might select his running mate for the 2024 Republican ticket.

“I’ll be picking, but probably not too much before the convention, which I happen to be having in the great state of Wisconsin,” the presumptive GOP nominee told FOX 6 Milwaukee during a campaign visit to the battleground state Wednesday.

The Republican National Convention will be held in Milwaukee July 15-18. Traditionally, the vice presidential nominee will address the delegates on the penultimate night of the gathering.

In 2016, Trump picked then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate in the final week before the convention, lending credence to the suggestion he will follow a similar timeline this time.

The 45th president, 77, also told the outlet that being kept in a Manhattan courtroom on charges of concealing “hush money” payments has not made him want to speed up the running mate process.

“I don’t think so,” Trump said when asked if he needed someone else to campaign on his behalf. “I think we’re getting the word out.”

Trump has so far been coy in revealing details about his potential running mate and the timeline for when he will officially add someone to his ticket. He has spoken favorably about a wide range of candidates, but has not singled out anyone as a definite top choice.

Behind the scenes, the veepstakes have been tumultuous, with contenders rising and falling rapidly.

A source familiar with the conversation previously told The Post that biotech mogul Vivek Ramaswamy is almost definitely out of the running for VP, while allies of the former president said South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has “no shot” at the position after she recounted a 20-year-old story about killing her dog.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also ruled himself out as Trump’s running mate in a February call with donors.

As he weighs the decision, Trump is having a big campaign event in Palm Beach this week where he will be joined by many of the people reportedly still on his list.

Bloomberg reported Thursday that the former president had narrowed his choices to four top contenders: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Republican Sens. JD Vance of Ohio, Marco Rubio of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina.

The Trump campaign pushed back hard against the reporting, with senior adviser Brian Hughes saying in a statement: “Anyone claiming to know who or when President Trump will choose his VP is lying, unless the person is named Donald J. Trump.”

Another senior adviser, Chris LaCivita, was more belligerent on X, writing in response to the Bloomberg scoop: “Notice to reporters: you should not make these kind of assumptions and then commit them to paper … they will only come back to bite you in the ass.”