Donald J. Trump’s monthslong search for a running mate, orchestrated to feed speculation and attention, is nearing an end, but questions of who, and when, remain.
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Some aides are preparing for the possibility that Donald J. Trump will announce his pick on social media just before a rally scheduled for Saturday in Butler County, Pa., north of Pittsburgh.
Donald J. Trump’s running-mate search, as much a theatrical production as a political one, is now in its final act.
In exactly one week, the Republican vice-presidential nominee is scheduled to address the party’s convention in Milwaukee.
The leading contenders — Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida — have sat for repeated cable news interviews. They’ve attended campaign fund-raisers, mingled with members of Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and flown on the Trump plane. And they’ve all completed perhaps the most crucial test: addressing the devoted core of the former president’s MAGA movement onstage at a Trump rally.
Mr. Trump has orchestrated his monthslong selection process with the flair and finesse of a seasoned marionette puppeteer, relying on dramatic pronouncements to feed speculation, draw in his audience and try to redirect any lingering attention away from his 34 felony convictions.
Now, in true Trumpian fashion, the finale includes a bit of suspense.
Just one public campaign event remains on Mr. Trump’s schedule before the Republican National Convention — a rally in western Pennsylvania on Saturday. Several of the former president’s allies believe he may want to bring his running mate to the rally. Some aides are preparing for the possibility that Mr. Trump will announce his pick on social media just before the event.
Mr. Trump’s preference, however, seems to be revealing his pick in a made-for-television announcement onstage at the convention. When asked in an interview on Monday about the timing of his announcement, he spent much of his answer talking about craving such a moment.
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