Donald Trump’s Potential Running Mates: Pros and Cons -- The New York Times

[bsteadman]

Donald Trump’s Potential Running Mates: Pros and Cons

The New York Times
by Ashley Parker
7/4/2016

Excerpts:

Donald J. Trump plans to announce his running mate before the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this month, and has started an “Apprentice”-style search — meeting with possible candidates one by one and then posting on Twitter about it. (On Monday, he even praised on Twitter Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, a long-shot running mate whom some Republicans nonetheless like because of his military service.)

Below is a look at the four potential candidates for vice president whom the Trump campaign has already begun vetting.

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey

Why Mr. Trump would choose him: After dropping out of the Republican primary contest, Mr. Christie was one of Mr. Trump’s earliest endorsers — the sort of loyalty that goes far in his world. Mr. Christie has since emerged as a key figure behind the scenes, including running Mr. Trump’s transition team.

Mr. Trump has said he would like to choose someone with government experience, and Mr. Christie’s leadership of a traditionally Democratic state, where he has pushed legislation through the New Jersey State House, could help in working with a deeply divided Congress. Mr. Christie himself is also brash enough to handle the outsize personality at the top of the ticket.

Possible downside: Mr. Christie is still dealing with fallout from the George Washington Bridge lane-closing scandal. Mr. Trump has also seemed dismissive of Mr. Christie at times on the campaign trail, once ordering him back to the plane after the governor had finished introducing the Manhattan businessman.

And Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, who wields an increasingly influential role behind the scenes on the campaign team, has a fraught relationship with Mr. Christie, who as a prosecutor helped send his father to jail.
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Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa
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Newt Gingrich, former House speaker
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Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana
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View the complete article, including links and images, at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/05/us...president.html

[bsteadman]

Chris Christie Becomes Powerful Figure in Donald Trump Campaign

The New York Times
by Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman
6/30/2016

Excerpt:

Defeated by Donald J. Trump in the 2016 primaries and derided by fellow Republicans for his subsequent embrace of Mr. Trump, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey has quietly emerged as one of the most influential advisers to his party’s presumptive presidential nominee and one of the leading contenders to be his running mate.

Four months after endorsing Mr. Trump, Mr. Christie remains one of the few major figures in the Republican establishment to align himself entirely with Mr. Trump’s candidacy. In public, he has defended Mr. Trump’s freewheeling and sometimes offensive pronouncements, vouching for him even after Mr. Trump attacked a federal judge for his Mexican heritage. (Mr. Christie said he knew from personal experience that Mr. Trump was not a racist.)

Mr. Christie is among those being vetted as Mr. Trump’s possible running mate, according to people briefed on the process, and Mr. Trump has said in interviews that Mr. Christie would have a prominent place in a Trump White House.

Already, Mr. Christie has begun the task of designing a government on Mr. Trump’s behalf. Chosen to lead Mr. Trump’s transition efforts, Mr. Christie has taken a role that some of his allies liken to that of a White House chief of staff, soliciting views on what a potential administration should look like.
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View the complete article, including links and images, at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/us...ald-trump.html