The first televised debate between the candidates for the upcoming U.S. Presidential election in November will take place on Thursday on CNN. Joe Biden and Donald Trump will face off in this debate. Third-party or independent candidates have not met the criteria to participate and are currently excluded from the stage.
All eyes in the U.S. are on this first round between the 82-year-old Joe Biden and 78-year-old Donald Trump. It seems almost certain that both will be the presidential nominees. The final decision will be made at the conventions: the Democrats will convene in Chicago from August 19-22, and the Republicans in Milwaukee from July 15-18. At these conventions, the vice-presidential candidates for the November elections will also be chosen. Both Biden and Trump will select their own running mates. It is expected that Biden will choose Kamala Harris, who is currently serving as the Vice President of the United States.
However, Trump’s choice for a running mate remains a mystery. Since late last year, Trump’s list of potential running mates has been quite long. It included several names from the Republican Party who had initially sought the presidential nomination but later withdrew and supported Trump. Among these were Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who posed a significant challenge to Trump in the primaries, and Nikki Haley, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. during the Trump administration. However, these two names are no longer on the betting lists.
There is ongoing debate within Trump’s camp about whether the Vice President should be male or female, White or Black, young or old, wealthy or middle-class. Another topic of discussion is whether Trump will prioritize merit or loyalty in his choice. In the 2016 Presidential election, Trump chose Mike Pence as his Vice President, but Pence disappointed Trump during the certification of the 2020 election results.
Initially, there were about 20 names on the Vice President betting list. Recently, this number dropped to fewer than 10, and now three names are said to be in the forefront: Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.
Although Trump has mentioned that many names would be ideal for the candidacy, he has kept the issue ambiguous by not indicating a single name. This ambiguity has prompted names on both the long and short lists to take more prominent roles and raise more funds for Trump’s campaign.
Trump is not just a presidential candidate but also the leader of the Republican Party. The choice of Vice President is crucial for the party’s future, as Vice Presidents often become presidential candidates in the subsequent election after the sitting President's two terms. The Vice Presidency is seen as a sort of “presidential internship.”
The youngest name on Trump’s shortest list, Senator J.D. Vance, is gaining more attention. Vance acts as a representative of White Americans in the Midwest, the strongholds of “Trumpism,” who have been impoverished by the deindustrialization caused by the bipartisan neoliberal policies of “Global America.” These states played a major role in Trump’s election as President in 2016. The selection of the Vice President will also indicate the future leader of the “MAGA movement,” which represents the changing stance of the Republican Party.
J.D. Vance is one of the most prominent political representatives of Trump’s “Make America Great Again (MAGA)” movement. Moreover, Vance is seen as the top choice by Trump’s influential eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., his other son, Eric Trump, and his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, who co-chairs the Republican National Committee. In a poll conducted among young Republicans who support the MAGA movement, Vance ranked first with 43% of the vote. The only Black American among Senate Republicans, Senator Tim Scott, received about 16%, Senator Marco Rubio about 8%, and Governor Doug Burgum about 7%.
It is said that Donald Trump will not reveal the identity of his Vice President until the Party Convention in July. However, Trump hinted in a speech that he might announce his choice during the debate with Biden on Thursday, stirring up speculation.
