Speculation Over Who Trump Will Pick as His VP; To Be Formally Announced Friday

Mike Pence. Chris Christie. Newt Gingrich.

For the past two days, these three names have been floating around as the finalists Trump is considering for his Vice-President. This week, Trump has had meetings with all three, so there is plenty of speculation over who Trump will pick.

Just today, The New York Times released an article suggesting that Trump's campaign will pick Mike Pence to be Trump's running mate. Read that article here. But the question on everyone's mind: Who is Mike Pence? Currently, he is the Governor of Indiana and, as reported in the above article, "is viewed in Washington as a conventional politician with standard-issue conservative beliefs, including on some where his policy instincts plainly conflict with Mr Trump's." With that being said, maybe Pence is exactly what Trump needs for his campaign.  Several Republicans have chosen not to endorse Trump because, in their minds, he does not represent traditional conservative values. So having Pence as Trump's running mate might sway more support over to Trump's campaign. Not to mention, on Tuesday night Trump addressed a rally in Indiana with Pence.

Photo by Gage Skidmore (Creative Commons license)

However, that same week, Trump and his family also met with both New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. While both Christie and Gingrich ran their own 2016 presidential campaigns this season, both have chosen to endorse Trump. In my opinion, these are not bad options for Trump, as both are better known among voters and can bring in plenty of support for Trump's campaign. But on the other hand, Pence is relatively new in the minds of voters and no one loves that fact more than the media. With Pence attracting plenty of media attention, Trump's campaign will certainly use that attention to their advantage.

Do not get your hopes up, yet. As son, Eric Trump knows, his father's decision will be a key factor in winning the nomination. Eric Trump tells Politico (read that article here) that Donald Trump is looking for "somebody that will actually stand by him and do a great job for the American people".

Ultimately though, the final decision lies with Trump. Will Trump take the same actions John McCain did when he chose Sarah Palin, a relatively unheard of governor of Alaska, who was not even being vetted for the position at the time? Who knows what exactly Trump has up his sleeve?

Photo by Gage Skidmore (Creative Commons license)

What is clear at this point, though, is that Trump has plans to formally announce his running mate at 11am Friday with a big ceremony in New York. To all my readers, I suggest that you tune in if you have a chance.