Mulvaney: Trump Veepstakes could ‘drag out’

Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said he thinks the veepstakes could “drag out” as former President Trump continues to tease a shortlist of candidates to be his running mate.

Mulvaney, who served in the Trump administration, joined “The Hill on NewsNation” to discuss the contenders. He said he thinks Trump just said yes to the names provided by Fox News’s Laura Ingraham, who hosted a recent town hall event with the former president.  

At the event in Greenville, S.C., Trump, the GOP front-runner, confirmed a list of names floated to be on his vice president shortlist.

The candidates included Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) and former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who served in Congress as a Democrat but has since shifted to more conservative views.

“He would’ve said yes to pretty much everybody, I think, except Mike Pence and Michael Cohen,” Mulvaney said, adding that it’s the vice president version of Trump’s former reality TV show “The Apprentice.”

“He’s gonna drag this out as long as he possibly can,” Mulvaney continued. “He loves the attention on who his vice presidential nominee is going to be.”

During the town hall event ahead of the South Carolina primary, Trump said all the potential candidates are “solid” and said he would like a running mate who can help him from the “voter’s standpoint.” He added that he wanted someone who has “common sense” on issues such as the border, electric vehicles and high-interest rates.

Trump specifically shouted out Scott, who launched a presidential bid but suspended his campaign last November. Scott made a surprising endorsement of Trump last month, choosing the former president over the only remaining contender, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who appointed him to the Senate.

Mulvaney previously said Scott’s endorsement got his attention, after he ruled him out from joining Trump on the ticket.

Still, Mulvaney argued there will be “a huge production” at the Republican National Convention later this year, where Trump will announce his vice president.

“Why not drag it out as long as you possibly can, and again, he knows better than I do, because he’s better [at] this than anybody but this could drag on for a while,” Mulvaney said.  

“The Hill” show on NewsNation airs Monday to Friday at 6 p.m. EST.

NewsNation is a cable news channel launched in 2021 by Nexstar Media Group, which owns and operates dozens of local television stations across the country and purchased The Hill in fall 2021.