Donald Trump's vice-presidential contenders gather for debate in Atlanta

CHESAPEAKE, Va. – Now that the first debate is over, the race to be Donald Trump’s running mate is in full swing.

A crowd of potential Republican vice presidential candidates flocked to the Atlanta debate to carry the Trump flag and denounce President Joe Biden — all amid reports that the presumptive 2024 GOP nominee could announce his decision from one day to the next.

“He’s told some people, yes,” Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law and co-chair of the Republican National Committee, told NBC News’ Tom Llamas.

Trump’s list of debate candidates included the most frequently mentioned possibilities: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Sens. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Tim Scott of South Carolina and Marco Rubio of Florida.

“We’ll know who it is at some point in the next couple of weeks,” Rubio said in a post-debate interview on CNN.

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Burgum, like others, has flattered Trump and criticized Biden. The North Dakotan said in an interview with NBC that Trump had a “very good performance,” while Biden had “challenges … just getting a message across.”

On social media platform X, Vance said: “Trump has so much more energy and clarity than Biden, it’s just an insane contrast”

Trump, who is holding a rally Friday after the debate in southeastern Virginia, said he wants to unveil his running mate just before or during the Republican convention in Milwaukee July 15-18.

In recent days, Trump and his advisers have become more ambiguous about the timetable.

“We’ll make a decision pretty quickly and I think people will be very happy with that decision,” Trump told Newsmax in an interview that aired Tuesday.

Trump and his aides also stressed that there is always the possibility of a surprise.

At the Atlanta debate, the campaign’s debate surrogate list included several longtime Republican candidates, including businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former Housing Secretary Ben Carson, and Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Elise Stefanik from New York.

“I’m honored to have my name in the debate,” Stefanik told reporters after the Trump-Biden debate. “I’m proud to be a good friend of President Trump.”

Ramaswamy told reporters he was not sure he would be Trump’s man.

“He didn’t ask me to be his vice president,” he told reporters. “Whoever asks him to be his vice president, I think, will have a remarkable ability to serve this country in advancing the America First agenda even further.”

Another potential vice presidential candidate, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, is expected to appear alongside Trump at his rally Friday in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Youngkin was not spotted in Atlanta, nor were any other longshots.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told USA TODAY while she was in Alabama: “I look forward to seeing President Trump win tonight’s debate as he lays out his vision of restoring secure borders, safe streets, stable prices and strong families.”

Another try for the vice presidency

All of the vice presidential candidates who traveled to Atlanta gave televised interviews and appeared in the media “press room” to praise Trump’s performance and bash Biden — the latest installment of the “Apprentice”-style competition overseen by Trump.

Throughout the election campaign, vice presidential hopefuls appeared on television, used social media, attended fundraisers and spoke at campaign events to promote Trump.

The hearings led to information leaks and lots of stories about who’s on top and who’s on the bottom. Trump and his people are only too happy to create suspense.

On Tuesday, two days before the debate, senior adviser Chris LaCivita scoffed at a news report that said the vice president’s announcement “could come as early as this week.”

“Someone remind me to tweet this story on Friday,” LaCivita said on the social platform the next week.

The social media campaign

As the Atlanta debate approaches, social media users have been promoting their favorite vice presidential candidates. Ramaswamy received massive support online.

In some cases, Trump’s allies have used social media to take down potential suitors.

The former son of President Donald Trump Jr. cited reports that some Republican donors are still lobbying for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who had frequent exchanges with Trump during the Republican primaries.

On Last hope!”

The campaign’s official statement remains: “Anyone who tells you they know who or when President Trump will pick his running mate is lying, unless that person’s name is Donald J. Trump.”

The statement also underscores the importance of the choice: Trump is looking for “a strong leader who will be a great president for eight years after his next four-year term ends.”

Trump took this route during his first presidential campaign in 2016.

At the time, after a series of leaks and speculation, Trump chose Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate.

Trump finally announced his selection — via tweet — on July 15, the Friday before the convention opened Monday. The two men made a formal announcement the following Saturday.

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