The Hill’s Post

Transcript

Just now to discuss this is national politics reporter for The Hill, Julia Manchester. Julia, thanks so much for joining us. Talk about Senator JD Vance, he's reportedly on the Donald Trump shortlist to be a running mate this year. Is there any indication about where those V stakes currently stand? Marco Rubio's on them too portly. When, when do we expect Trump will make an announcement? Yeah, Sam. So what we've heard is that this, you know, list has really been narrowed down to Marco Rubio. Doug Burgum and JD Vance now with Rubio, for example, there is a bit of a roadblock because both of these men, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio, are from Florida. But, you know, we we are seeing that Donald Trump is seeking other options. Now. It seems that the former president, you know, is still on track to announce this at the Republican National Convention later this month. I think right now the president and his campaign are really trying to ride this very negative news cycle for President Biden. And maybe try not to take away from that new cycle, let Democrats essentially Duke it out on their own and Republicans sit back. But another name that I've been starting to hear, Sam, is Virginia Governor Glenn Younkin. Now, that's very interesting because we've seen over the past few months, months and more recently weeks, Virginia become more and more in play for Republicans. And we're seeing Republicans start to voice, you know, optimism that they could. Been a Virginia and President Trump didn't rule out Glenn Younkin at a rally in Virginia following the debate. So that's just one of the names that has been floated. But it seems like the other three are still the top contenders. Well, the young can name actually leads nicely into my follow up question, which is, look, the Biden debate performance has shaken up the race a lot. But one of the ways is that it appears to have put some traditionally blue states into play. Tell us a little bit about what you're hearing about how the Trump campaign. Making plays for places like Virginia, New Mexico, New Hampshire and others. Well, the Trump campaign is trying to be more of a presence in these states, holding rallies in these states, holding fundraising events in the states. I think they're very much trying to test the water. Now, Republicans I've spoken to have said, look, it would be an uphill climb for Republicans in a state, you know, like Virginia or even New Hampshire, which recently saw a poll showing Trump very much competitive against Biden. But we're, you know, Republicans are starting to look to these states not only because they they themselves feel optimistic, but we've also heard Democrats voiced a lot of concerns about President Biden's ability to potentially win in these state. Sources told us during the Democratic governors meeting with President Biden at the White House last week, New Mexico, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, as well as Maine Governor Janet Mills, both raised some concerns about Biden's potential ability to win those states. Now that's remarkable. Because Maine and New Mexico are not normally considered competitive states. But for a state like Virginia, which I wouldn't call a battleground state, but it certainly, I would say on the level maybe below a battleground state, competitive but not competitive enough, you are starting to see Republicans start to turn their resources towards some of those states. Alright, national politics reporter for The Hill, Julia Manchester, thank you so much. And still ahead, we'll go live to CNBC for an early look at what's driving the day on Wall Street as investors await key new inflation data plus.