Donald Trump, Stranded in Indiana, Brings Running Mate Competition to Him

Donald Trump, Stranded in Indiana, Brings Running Mate Competition to Him

Stranded in Indianapolis on Wednesday after an aircraft malfunction, Donald J. Trump did what any gifted showman with a national campaign to run would do: He brought the presidential circus to him.

Mr. Trump, who is approaching a self-imposed deadline for selecting a running mate, met throughout the day with three finalists for the position — including two, Newt Gingrich and Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, flown in solely for that purpose.

A third candidate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, huddled at his home on Wednesday morning with Mr. Trump and his children, Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

In a scene more reminiscent of entertainment television than a standard presidential campaign, a crush of reporters monitored Mr. Trump’s departure from Mr. Pence’s home, and the comings and goings of vice-presidential prospects from Mr. Trump’s hotel throughout the day.

In some respects, the display resembled a late-season episode of a television dating show, in which various suitors meet the family of their prospective spouse, in a taxing final test of compatibility and commitment.

At least one vice-presidential contender approached the moment with a degree of lightheartedness. Mr. Gingrich, when asked why he was in Indiana, acknowledged he was going to meet with Mr. Trump’s children.

“See the kids, go to the zoo,” said Mr. Gingrich, a former speaker of the House. (Though he is an animal lover and is known to visit local zoos, Mr. Gingrich clarified he was kidding about visiting the Indianapolis Zoo.)

His sudden series of back-to-back conversations with vice-presidential finalists gave at least the impression of indecision, with little time left on the clock to make his choice. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump posted on Twitter that he would announce his running mate at 11 a.m. Eastern on Friday, just ahead of the Republican convention in Cleveland, which begins next Monday.

In addition to the three candidates who met Wednesday with the Trump family, Mr. Trump also spoke by phone with Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, the leader of Mr. Trump’s transition team, who has also been vetted as a potential running mate.

Among Mr. Trump’s advisers, Mr. Pence is seen as the lowest-risk option: a stolid if unspectacular choice, helpful for locking up conservative votes and perhaps boosting Mr. Trump’s appeal across the Midwest.

At the top levels of the Trump campaign, there was a high degree of optimism earlier in the week that Mr. Pence would connect on a personal level with Mr. Trump during a planned visit to Indiana, and thus dispense with his competition for the job. Republicans have even begun to prepare for Mr. Pence’s potential withdrawal from his race for re-election.

Yet Mr. Trump has so far given no particular signal of public enthusiasm for Mr. Pence. At a joint rally in Indiana on Tuesday, Mr. Trump mused that Mr. Pence could end up as vice president, but added, “Who the hell knows?”

Jeff Cardwell, the chairman of the Indiana Republican Party, said Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence appeared “very relaxed” together at a private fund-raising event in the state on Tuesday night. While there, Mr. Pence talked up Indiana’s economy, Mr. Cardwell said, and Mr. Trump said that many people outside the state had taken note of its economic performance.

Even as Mr. Trump’s political advisers have largely rallied around Mr. Pence, there remains considerable affection for Mr. Gingrich within the Trump family, particularly from Ivanka Trump and her husband, Mr. Kushner.

Mr. Gingrich has been an aggressive advocate for Mr. Trump, and he drew an enthusiastic response at a campaign rally in Ohio last week.

And Sheldon Adelson, the casino billionaire who is among the country’s most prolific Republican political donors, is said to have communicated to Mr. Trump’s camp that he would prefer Mr. Gingrich, according to two Republicans familiar with his views. Mr. Kushner has been Mr. Adelson’s frequent point of contact with the campaign in recent weeks.

Mr. Adelson, who spent millions of dollars supporting Mr. Gingrich’s unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2012, has promised to give generously to groups supporting Mr. Trump, but does not appear to have cut any significant checks yet.

Mr. Trump may be merely reviewing his list of options one last time before making up his mind. But to some Republicans who have observed him in recent days, Mr. Trump has also appeared genuinely uncertain of the best course forward, and perhaps even of his own preferences.

In interviews and private meetings, Mr. Trump has named different qualities as paramount in his choice of a running mate. Throughout the Republican primaries, Mr. Trump expressed a strong preference for a vice president with knowledge of Capitol Hill. During a fund-raiser on Long Island last weekend, Mr. Trump said it would be essential for him to feel a relaxed personal connection with his running mate, and that the person would have to exhibit a superior knowledge of government.

In an interview this week with The Wall Street Journal, he added another characteristic to the wish list: His running mate, Mr. Trump said, must be an “attack dog.” But in an appearance on Fox News on Wednesday, he backtracked and said he was not looking for an attack dog.

The frenzied nature of Mr. Trump’s vice-presidential courtship underscores one of the recurring themes of his 2016 campaign: the presumptive nominee’s surprising remoteness from most of the other major figures in the Republican Party.

To the extent Mr. Trump places a premium on his personal relationship with a running mate, Mr. Christie or Mr. Gingrich may have a leg up, as he has been friends with both men over the years.

Mr. Pence, the favorite of the Trump political team and national Republican Party officials, is a comparatively unfamiliar face. If he would seem to be the safe choice politically, it would constitute a rare foray for Mr. Trump — going outside his personal comfort zone to make, perhaps, his most important decision of the general election.

NYT