North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has emerged as a leading candidate to be former President Donald Trump’s running mate, due to his lack of interest in high-level office and his disciplined ability to keep a low profile, people familiar with the matter say.
Many grassroots activists are eager for Trump to appoint a young, dynamic number two to succeed his movement, but the former president is not keen on that.
Trump, who will be a lame duck on the first day of his new term, is nervous about his vice president launching his own 2028 presidential campaign as soon as he arrives in Washington.
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“Elise Stefanik is a young, rising star, as is Marco Rubio, who has a long history of running for president. J.D. Vance, given his rising star status, would be an immediate successor in 2028,” one of the people familiar with the discussions said.
But this is bad news for Stefanik, since Trump has openly stated that he prefers a man with “center casting” looks and “good hair” as his running mate, according to another source.
Burgum, however, has great hair.
“Burgum is very intelligent, very wealthy, has no interest in running for office to enrich himself, understands Trump on a business level and is quiet and steady but would be an effective surrogate for Trump when he needs to be,” the source added. “I don’t think he’s necessarily interested in running for president, and he’s not the obvious successor.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence, now an unwelcome figure in Trump world, made waves when he launched his own political action committee ahead of the 2017 and 2020 elections.
Another official noted that the Trump campaign does not seek reelection.
While Vance and Stefanik are both junior Republicans, both 39, Rubio is still relatively young at 53. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who is no longer in the race, is 58.
Burgum, by contrast, is 67 and will be in his 70s around 2028.
Burgum is older than President Biden was when he was selected as vice president by former President Barack Obama in 2008.
Biden was chosen primarily because he was seen as an elder statesman with no future plans to take on the ambitious Obama.
Other front-runners are also at a disadvantage in a number of ways, experts say: The 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution bars Trump from nominating a Florida candidate, which would be bad news for Rubio.
One prominent surrogate said there are already plans for Rubio to resign from his seat and move to Maryland if Trump selects him, a situation that is not seen as ideal.
A favorite of “MAGA populists and Donald Trump Jr.”, Vance was until recently a staunch Trump critic. In a 2016 text message to a former Yale roommate, Vance warned that Trump was a “moral disaster” and could become “the American Hitler,” adding that his policy ideas “range from the immoral to the absurd.”
Vance once CNN reported this week that a Twitter post had been posted suggesting that President Trump had committed a “serial sexual assault.”
