Donald Trump says he’s decided on VP pick

Former President Donald Trump told reporters Saturday that he has decided on his running mate for the 2024 presidential race.

NBC News’ Jake Traylor reported on X, formerly Twitter, that Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate nominee, has not yet informed his vice-presidential pick. Traylor also reported that Trump said his running mate will be at Thursday’s debate with President Joe Biden in Atlanta.

Trump told Scripps News last month that there’s a “good chance” he’ll announce his running mate at the Republican national convention in Milwaukee in July.

When reached for comment via email Saturday night, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung replied, “Stay tuned!”

Recently, odds on North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum being Trump’s 2024 running mate have been shortened by a number of leading bookmakers, with whom he is now the strong favorite.

In February, Trump confirmed that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Senator Tim Scott, Representative Byron Donalds, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former House Democrat Tulsi Gabbard were on his shortlist during a Fox News appearance. Other widely tipped candidates include Burgum, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance.

In May, Trump ruled out Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who ran against him for the Republican presidential nomination, as his running mate. In a post on his Truth Social website, he said: “Nikki Haley is not under consideration for the V.P. slot, but I wish her well! DJT.”

Noem had been hotly tipped for the VP role, but her bookies odds fell sharply after she wrote about shooting her 14-month-old dog Cricket, which she claimed was “untrainable” and aggressive, in her new book.

In a recent appearance on CNN, Noem said that Trump should select a woman as his vice-presidential pick.

When State of the Union host Dana Bash pointed out that six men and one woman is on a reported list of candidates that Trump is vetting for vice president in the 2024 election, Bash then asked Noem if “a woman should be on the [Republican] ticket” given the importance of suburban women voters in this year’s election.

“All the polls tell him in these swing states that a woman on the ticket helps him win. The polls just say that. One in four Republican women haven’t made up their minds because they want to have a woman talking to them about the issues they care about,” Noem said while campaigning for Trump in Wisconsin.

The governor added: “But, yes, the women vote is extremely important. And I have spent the majority of my time here in Wisconsin talking to women and talking to those people that are independent and, on the fringe, and they’re leaning towards Donald Trump. But they also want to know that their perspective is going to be at the table when decisions are made.”

Update: 6/22/2024, 9:12 p.m. EST: This article has been updated with more information.

This is a developing news story that will be updated with more information.