Veep show: who will Trump pick for his running mate?

We are in the fifth week of Donald Trump’s ‘hush money’ trial and the real scandal is that it’s all so intensely boring. Sex, porn-star witnesses, shady lawyers, a president in the dock – the headlines are a tabloid dream. The crux of the case, however, is a bunch of tedious charges to do with tax reporting and accountancy. Who wants to read about that?  

Trump adores the attention, naturally. As the greatest showman of the 21st century he understands that we, the people, need fresh drama and new characters. That’s why, while railing every day against the ‘weaponisation’ of the justice system, he’s also busy teasing fans with a more intriguing subplot: who might he pick as his running mate in 2024? 

 In fact, the trial in Manhattan is now doubling up as a sort of pick-me-please pageant for vice-presidential hopefuls. On Monday, J.D. Vance, the Ohio Senator, showed up in court to parade his loyalty. The next day, Florida congressman Byron Donalds and the entrepreneur-turned-politician Vivek Ramaswamy put in appearances, as did Trump’s latest favourite billionaire, Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota.

Trump likes to hire people who look, in his words, ‘straight out of central casting’. Burgum, an obviously rich man with a square jaw and a blonde spouse, ticks some of his favourite boxes. ‘There’s a personal chemistry with Burgum,’ says Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist. ‘And President Trump is not just looking for a vice- president to fly around going to funerals. Burgum has that executive experience that could help share the burden of taking on the administrative state.’

Last weekend, at a rally in New Jersey, Trump set tongues wagging by introducing the crowd to Governor Burgum and his wife Kathryn.