Former US President Donald Trump delivers a speech on the day of his court appearance in New York after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury following an investigation into hush money payments to porn star Stormy on April 4, 2023 in Palm Beach, Florida, the United States Daniels was charged.
Marco Bello | Reuters
Former President Donald Trump will travel from a New York courtroom to his posh private club in Florida this weekend to meet with potential running mate and wealthy Republican donors.
Trump is scheduled to spend Thursday and Friday in court in Lower Manhattan, where he is on trial on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a political hush money trial.
The former president will then return to Florida, where he will chair the spring donor convention of the Republican National Committee.
The annual weekend traditionally brings together major donors and GOP heavyweights. But this year, the list of “special guests” expected in Florida reads like a list of Trump’s potential vice presidential candidates, according to an agenda obtained by CNBC.
Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, JD Vance of Ohio and Tim Scott of South Carolina are all “special guests.” The same goes for North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who is also on the short list. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, fresh from a dog-shooting scandal, is also expected to attend. The same goes for New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, one of Trump’s fiercest defenders in Congress.
They are all reportedly being considered as potential vice presidential candidates on Trump’s wish list.
On the question of when Trump might announce his running mate, the former president said Wednesday that he would not announce his pick until shortly before the Republican National Convention, which begins July 15 in Milwaukee.
“I think we’ll make that decision closer to the time in Wisconsin if you want to know the truth,” Trump told a local Fox affiliate in Wisconsin. “It’s still very early at the moment.”
Weekend program
The Florida events will take place at both the Four Seasons Hotel in Palm Beach and Trump’s nearby Mar-a-Lago club.
The retreat begins Friday at 5:30 p.m. with a reception at the Four Seasons with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Stefanik and RNC co-chairwoman Lara Trump, who is married to former president’s son Eric Trump.
Dinner attendees later that evening will hear speeches from Rubio and Scott, among others.
A general view of Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate ahead of his watch party event marking the Super Tuesday primaries in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., March 5, 2024.
Marco Bello | Reuters
On Saturday, guests come to Mar-a-Lago for lunch. Trump will speak there along with Representatives Byron Donalds of Florida and Wesley Hunt of Texas as well as his former main opponent in the presidential election, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
Saturday night’s dinner at the Four Seasons will be chaired by Vance and will include speeches from three high-profile Republican Senate candidates: Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, Dave McCormick, who is running to unseat Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, and Bernie Moreno, the Party candidate to challenge incumbent Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown in Ohio.
Although Trump hasn’t confirmed any interviews, it’s not hard to imagine potential candidates for the candidacy coming to Mar-a-Lago sometime this weekend to meet face-to-face with the man at the top of the list.
After a weekend in Florida, Trump is expected back in the New York courtroom on Monday morning, where his trial is scheduled to continue.
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2024-05-02 03:04:57
www.cnbc.com
