Donald Trump made one surprise decision about his Vice President

For the third consecutive cycle, Donald Trump is the Republican Party nominee for President.

But for the first time, he will need a new running mate.

And Donald Trump made one surprise decision about his Vice President.

Donald Trump narrows down the shortlist

Former President Donald Trump will announce a new running mate before the Republican National Convention in July.

And like the television star that he is, he knows how to create a sense of drama around the selection that will dominate the media coverage.

Trump and his team are in the home stretch of the selection process and he added one new name to his list of possible Vice Presidents – former Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.

She left the Democrat Party in 2022 saying woke warmongers took over the party and began campaigning for America First conservatives like now-U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH).

The New York Times reported that Trump came away so impressed with her after a meeting where the two discussed the best strategies for putting conservatives loyal to Trump’s MAGA foreign policy into key positions at the Pentagon that he told his advisors he wanted Gabbard on the running mate shortlist.

“After a recent meeting at Mar-a-Lago with former Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, a Democrat-turned-independent who has become popular among conservatives, he made clear to advisers that she should be on his list of options,” The Times reported.

One other surprising name under consideration

Trump – who has a knack for the unexpected – even floated the idea of offering the gig to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and doubling down on the theme of anti-establishment outsiders running to drain the “Swamp.”

“In other cases, Mr. Trump has fixated on the whimsical over the practical. He has asked several people about running with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying he is intrigued by the branding potential of a ‘Trump-Kennedy’ ticket despite his recent attacks on Mr. Kennedy and the unlikelihood of such a scenario. Mr. Trump’s campaign team remains adamantly opposed to the idea, and Mr. Kennedy, who is already running for president as an independent, has said he would not consider such an offer,” The Times also reported.

Trump asking one more key question

The Times report on Trump’s Vice-Presidential selection process also included the nugget that he is quizzing advisors about a prospective candidate’s ability to raise money.

Biden currently holds a two-to-one cash-on-hand advantage over him and he is looking to find a candidate who can help him both politically and with donors leading him to consider several former Primary rivals as well as members of Congress.

The Times reports that “Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, Ms. Haley, and a coterie of members of Congress, including Representative Elise Stefanik of New York and Senators Marco Rubio of Florida, Tim Scott of South Carolina and J.D. Vance of Ohio” are all potential running mates due to their connection to donors who can help Trump close Biden’s fundraising edge.

Of those choices, Burgum, Haley, Rubio, Scott, and Stefanik are all establishment-friendly and RINOs at worst.

J.D. Vance of Ohio is the ideological leader of Trump’s America First movement in the Senate and also has the geographic advantage of hailing from the Midwest, the region where Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin will decide the winner of the election.