DONALD TRUMP HAS tightened his grip on the Republican presidential nomination following a victory in the New Hampshire primary overnight.
In doing so, Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to win open races in Iowa and New Hampshire since both states began leading the election calendar in 1976.
A previously packed field has now been whittled down to two, but the result in New Hampshire is a big blow to former ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, who invested a lot of time and financial resources into winning the state and ended up finishing second.
Despite his legal wranglings, many Republicans have rallied around Trump and it now looks likely that he will be their presidential nominee for the third time in a row.
However, there is uncertainty over who will be his pick for a running mate in November’s election against Joe Biden.
Mike Pence acted as vice-president during Trump’s time in office, but their relationship became incredibly strained following Trump’s defeat to Biden in the 2020 election.
Trump urged Pence to not certify the results of the 2020 election, something a vice-president does not have the power to do, and Pence has since stated that Trump had “demanded” he “choose between him and the Constitution”.
On 6 January 2021, Trump gave a speech in which he said he would “never concede” and publicly called for Pence to overturn the election results, urging the assembled crowd to “fight like hell”.
Following this speech, hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in Washington DC, assaulting police and forcing a halt to the joint House-Senate session intended to confirm that Joe Biden had won the 2020 election and would become president.
Pence ran for the Republican nominee, but was the first major candidate to leave a race that has been dominated by his former boss-turned-rival.
He tried to confront head-on his actions of 6 January 2021, explaining to voters over and over that he had done his constitutional duty that day, knowing full well the political consequences.
It was a strategy that aides believed would help defuse the issue and earn Pence the respect of a majority of Republicans, whom they were were convinced did not agree with Trump’s actions, but he struggled to gain any traction.
So while bridges are well and truly burned between Trump and Pence, what is it that Trump will look for in a running mate?
Larry Donnelly, who is a Boston lawyer, a law lecturer at the University of Galway and a political columnist with The Journal, said loyalty will be the number one thing Trump will seek from a running mate.
“The number one quality is going to be unwavering loyalty, above all else,” Donnelly told The Journal.
“Someone who is going to be with him all the time, 100%, no matter what.
“And at the same time, someone who is never going to challenge him or try to outshine him or get in the way of the spotlight being on him.”
Donnelly added that his team and his strategists “will be pushing for someone who they think gives him a competitive edge in the election.”
However, he told The Journal that “at the end of the day for Trump, it is going to be that loyalty test”.
To gain this “competitive edge” Donelly said Trump may decide to opt for a woman.
“A woman would appeal to some of those female voters who were with him in 2016, yet disliked what he did while he was in office and shifted to Biden.
“Having them in play this time around and winning some of them back is going to be hugely important, so my guess is that he will pick a woman.”
Donnelly also said Trump may pick a man of colour and South Carolina governor Tim Scott, one of the most prominent black Republicans, is thought to be in the running.
Fox News meanwhile has said it has seen a shortlist of potential candidates and with this in mind, we take a look at some of Trump’s options.
Over the weekend, Trump told Fox News that he has someone in mind for his running mate, but that there’s only a “25 percent chance” he’ll stick with this choice.
One option could be Nikki Haley, the only person that stands in his way of becoming the Republican presidential nominee.
Haley was also floated as a potential running mate during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, but she told reporters at the time: “My plate is full and I am not interested in serving as vice president.”
However, she went on to be appointed by Trump to be the US ambassador to the United States.
Haley would appeal to moderate and independent voters who dislike Trump’s views and rhetoric, but she has said being Trump’s running mate is “off the table” and that she doesn’t want to be vice president.
She has also intensified her criticism of Trump recently, questioning his mental ability and pitching herself as a unifying candidate who would usher in generational change.
Trump meanwhile has also stepped up his criticisms of Haley recently, and last week mangled her birth name of Nimarata, referring to her as “Nikki ‘Nimrada’ Haley”.
He also used his social media platform ‘Truth Social’ to post an article from a right-wing outlet which falsely claimed that Haley is ineligible to be president because her parents, who are from India, were not US citizens when she was born.
Trump also used the “birther” conspiracy theory against Barack Obama.
Obama was born in Hawaii and Trump falsely claimed that Obama’s birth certificate was forged and that he was born in Kenya.
Trump also told a rally on Friday: “”She (Haley) is OK, but she is not presidential timber.
“And when I say that, that probably means she is not going to be chosen as the vice president.”
Meanwhile, Haley’s name was not on that list of potential candidates viewed by Fox News.
Ron DeSantis’ campaign started brightly and he was polling as high as 35% in the opinion polls at one point.
He was viewed by some as being a Trump-style figure but without the legal baggage.
Fuelled by his dominant re-election as Florida governor in 2022, DeSantis sidestepped tradition by announcing his presidential campaign on X, in a conversation on the social media site with chief executive Elon Musk.
But the site failed repeatedly during the conversation, making it all but impossible to hear his opening remarks as a presidential candidate.
In the subsequent weeks and months, DeSantis struggled to connect with voters on a personal level under the unforgiving bright lights of the presidential stage.
Trump also went after the Florida governor viciously, pounding him on the campaign trail, on social media and in paid advertising in the months that followed.
Trump called this a “gracious” move and added that DeSantis is a “really terrific person”, despite having directed a lot of blunt criticism towards his fellow candidate during his campaign.
Trump also agreed to drop the nickname he had coined for the Florida governor of “Ron DeSanctimonious”.
However, he too is absent from the shortlist leaked to Fox News.
Elise Stefanik is a New York congresswoman who has been publicly praised by Trump and has been one of the most vocal supporters of his baseless claim of election fraud in the 2020 election.
On Saturday, she told reporters at Trump’s New Hampshire campaign office: “I’d be honoured—I’ve said that for a year—to serve in a future Trump administration in any capacity.”
These remarks were greeted with chants of “VP” by Trump’s supporters.
However, the fact that she is a congresswoman in a state that overwhelmingly votes Democrat in presidential elections could stand against her.
Stefanik is on the Trump Fox News shortlist but is viewed as a longshot.
Tim Scott launched his bid for the Republican nomination with support from Wall Street, but suspended his campaign before a primary had taken place.
In 2012, then-South Carolina governor Nikki Haley appointed Scott to become a Senator for the state, following the retirement of Senator Jim DeMint.
However, despite being appointed to the US Senate by Haley, Scott placed his support behind Trump on the eve of the New Hampshire primary.
Scott is the first black Senator from South Carolina, currently the only black Republican in the Senate, and one of the most prominent black Republicans in the United States.
He’s open to being Trump’s running mate and when asked on Sunday by CNN if he wants the position, Scott said: “The only thing I want is four more years of Donald Trump and a Republican majority in the Senate, majority in the House and the White House so that poor kids — who are today growing up in neighbourhoods like I grew up in — have a chance for quality education.”
JD Vance is an Ohio Senator and at one point was a fierce critic of Trump.
Prior to the 2016 election, he said: “Trump’s actual policy proposals, such as they are, range from immoral to absurd.”
However, he changed his stance towards Trump after he became president and supported his 2020 presidential bid.
In 2021, Vance also apologised for his previous criticisms of Trump and deleted posts on X, formerly Twitter, that were critical of the former president.
Vance has also supported Trump’s false claims of election fraud in his failed 2020 White House bid.
Meanwhile, Trump endorsed Vance for the Senate election in 2022 and he has made the former president’s shortlist for potential running mates.
After placing fourth in the Iowa caucus, wealthy biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy suspended his campaign to be US president.
Ramaswamy was virtually unknown prior to announcing his campaign, and amid a flurry of media appearances, he rose to third place in the national polling at one point over the summer.
However, as the race to become the Republican nominee dragged on, voters gravitated towards more experienced and well-known figures.
After dropping out of the race, Ramaswamy endorsed Trump.
“There is not a better choice left in this race than this man right here,” said Ramaswamy of Trump.
Trump replied to Ramaswamy’s endorsement by saying: “It’s an honour to have his endorsement. He’s going to be working with us and he’ll be working with us for a long time.”
However, Ramaswamy’s name was absent from the potential shortlist viewed by Fox News.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders is the governor of Arkansas and daughter of Mike Huckabee, who also served as Arkansas governor.
She also served as the White House press secretary for Trump, having been promoted from her role as a deputy following the resignation of Sean Spicer.
Sanders was also a senior advisor to Trump’s successful 2016 campaign and makes the shortlist seen by Fox News.
Donnelly told The Journal that other contenders include Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota, who Donnelly describes as a “real big time Trump loyalist”.
Donnelly added that Marsha Blackburn, a Senator from Tennessee, is also a potential pick and someone who “ticks all the boxes that Trump will be looking to tick”.
However, Donnelly ruled out figures such as the controversial Marjorie Taylor Greene.
While she is an avid Trump supporter, Donnelly remarked that she is viewed as a “lampoonish figure” and that he’d be “astonished” if Trump opted for her.
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