Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council, told NBC News that he believed Trump could “do better” with a pick ” who has not capitulated on something as fundamental as religious freedom”.
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Trump, his daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and son Don Jr. met with top contender Mike Pence Wednesday morning at the in governor’s home.
Introducing Trump at a rally in Westfield, Indiana, on Tuesday evening, Pence received an enthusiastic reception as he compared Trump to Republican icon Ronald Reagan and dug into Trump’s likely Democrat rival, Hillary Clinton.
For Pence, a former six-term congressman, selection by Trump would offer a return to national politics after his embrace of the role of a governor of conservative social issues sidelined his own presidential ambitions.
Trump has periodically said he likes the concept of picking a general, and his campaign is said to be vetting Flynn as a possibility. If chosen as Trump’s running mate, he can’t run for reelection. Jeff Sessions of Alabama.
A Trump adviser said this is essentially a last chance for these guys to each make their pitch.
“I don’t know if he’s going to be your governor or your vice president”, Trump said. “We will not rest, we will not relent, until we make this good man our president”, he told thousands at a rally in the Indianapolis suburb of Westfield, introducing the candidate. After travelling together on Tuesday, Pence and Trump met up again on Wednesday at the governor’s mansion.
“To paraphrase the director of the FBI, I think it would be extremely careless to elect Hillary Clinton as president of the United States”, Pence said, referring to FBI Director James Comey critiquing Clinton about her use of private email server while she was secretary of state.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journalon Tuesday, he said he was looking for someone who would be an attack dog and “fighter skilled in hand-to-hand combat” to rebut criticisms from the media.
Trump has long signaled he wants a vice president with political experience who could help him navigate Washington and score legislative victories.
Republican Donald Trump has entered the final phase of his high-profile search for a running mate, arranging last-minute meetings with his finalists and family members as his staff prepares for a Friday announcement. “And I’ll just always be grateful for the time that we had”. And where Trump struggles to draw evangelical Christians, Pence is well-regarded by them.
Trump’s children appear to be intimately involved in the vice presidential decision, bolstering the perception that they are the most influential advisers in his campaign.
Trump and Christie are scheduled to speak by phone today, two sources told CNN. Describing himself as “a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order”, Pence marched in to the front lines of the nation’s culture wars. And Gingrich and Trump are meeting in Indianapolis – at the request of the former speaker.
Trump is to be formally nominated at the Republican National Convention next week in Cleveland.
“He’s clearly in the final group”, one source told the news network. The Charlotte Observer also mentioned 22 potential candidates who might join Trump, including Christie and Gingrich.
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He is a potential bridge to Congress, having served in the House of Representatives for a dozen years, entering the same year as current House Speaker Paul Ryan.
