UPDATE, 7/15, 11:00am – Donald Trump has finally, officially announced that Mike Pence will be his Vice President.
UPDATE, 7:30pm – Trump has indefinitely postponed his announcement after learning of terror attacks in Nice, France.
Trump may be using foreign policy as a cover for a bungled announcement. In an interview with Greta Van Susteren, Trump admitted that he hasn’t quite made up his mind on who should be his second in command.
UPDATE, 6:30pm – Indiana governor Mike Pence has arrived at an airport in New Jersey.
NBC News is now confirming that Mike Pence has accepted Donald Trump’s offer to accompany him on the ticket.
CNN is also confirming.
UPDATE, 6:00pm – Donald Trump, Jr. is playing with the media, insisting that there is no drama embroiling the “top 3” Vice Presidential candidates, and joking that the Trump ticket could end up being a father/daughter operation.
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Sources close to the Donald Trump campaign are telling Roll Call and the New York Times that the Indiana governor may likely be Trump’s Vice Presidential candidate. According to Fox News, Pence is “taking steps” to clear his schedule, even dropping his gubernatorial re-election bid.
But not everyone is sure Trump has settled on a Vice President.
The Indiana governor, who we profiled earlier this week, has been a front-runner for the nod for weeks, as Trump struggled to find common ground with GOP voters who oppose his nomination. Choosing Pence, an ardent conservative with strong credentials, particularly among socially conservative Republicans, could signal that Trump is making an effort to unite the party.
Pence is also a strong choice to bolster Donald Trump’s credibility with “Rust Belt” and Midwestern Republicans who, in the primaries, were closely split between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.
But not everyone is buying the story. Erick Erickson of The Resurgent, who has been a vocal Trump opponent, says sources on the ground in Cleveland tell him that Pence’s name was floated as a way to calm the torrid delegate waters.
Hot Air‘s Allapundit thinks Pence is a ruse.
Trump supporters on social media, not pleased with the Pence selection, are calling shenanigans.
Other Washington insiders think the negative reaction from Trump’s target audience has all but cost Pence the VP slot.
There are concerns with Pence, aside from just crowd approval. It remains to be seen how the two political leaders would reconcile some of their stances, however. Pence is a strong proponent of international trade and supportive of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Trump has been a vocal trade protectionist, as well as moderately liberal on economics, in general.
Pence has also been harshly critical of the New York real estate mogul’s immigration policies on social media.
Presidential candidates don’t often get a polling bounce from their VP selection, but Pence does have the advantage of bringing a group of voters to the table that Trump was having a hard time wooing.