But he noted that Trump has also made an effort to get to “know Mike [Pence] and his family better”, as demonstrated by Trump’s decision to have his oldest children and son-in-law attend a meeting at Pence’s house in Indiana Wednesday morning.
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Trump’s campaign chair Paul Manafort insisted the decision had not yet been made on Thursday.
Mr Trump and his new running mate will make their first appearance as a team on Friday in NY.
Reports said Mr Trump was impressed with Mr Pence’s calm demeanour and his experience on Capitol Hill.
Pence rose to the top of Trump’s list of potential running mate candidates as a steady, disciplined counterpart to Trump’s bravado.
Mr Pence had considered running for president himself in 2016 before deciding to run for re-election as governor.
He did, however, tell CNN’s Manu Raju: “I’m a big supporter of Pence”.
Pence’s departure for national politics sets up a scramble among Indiana Republicans to determine who will replace Pence to run against Democratic challenger John Gregg in the November gubernatorial election. They are reporting that Trump will formally offer the spot to Pence later this afternoon.
According to the New York Times, which cited three people with knowledge of the conversations, Trump’s advisers have told national Republican officials that they are preparing to make an announcement with Pence in New York on Friday.
Viewed as a safe pair of hands, Pence has diverging views with Trump on his proposed Muslim ban and trade, and is more socially conservative, but he could help unify a divided party behind Trump’s White House bid.
Donald Trump has picked Mike Pence to be his vice-presidential candidate, the Guardian has learned.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says that Donald Trump’s impending vice presidential decision ultimately comes down to whether he wants a fellow “pirate” or a “relatively stable, more normal person”. He has also become a valuable partner for Mr Trump, joining him at events on the trail and taking on the important role of heading his transition planning. But former Republican governor said Thursday he won’t seek the job. Pence also boasts a strong background in social-conservative politics, and maintains a close relationship with Evangelical Christians.
Trump’s latest leaning comes after the billionaire spent 24 hours in IN where he spent much of his time with the conservative in governor, who Tuesday evening joined Trump at a fundraiser, a rally and later dined with him.
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Ginsburg says in a statement issued by the court on Thursday that judges should avoid commenting on a candidate for public office.
