Aiming for Friday announcement, Trump narrows his VP list

Donald Trump has reached the final phase of his search for a running mate, narrowing his list to three leading contenders and directing his staff to prepare for a Friday announcement.

“It’s a little bit like ‘The Apprentice,'” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, one of Trump’s finalists, says in a Tuesday interview with Fox News Channel. “You find out sooner or later who the last one standing is.”

Along with Gingrich, a boisterous rabble-rouser who has spent decades in Washington, the finalists include Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, a steady, staunch conservative who would help to calm nervous Republicans wary of Trump’s style. Trump’s daughter, Ivanka and her husband, Jared, are among those who visited Pence at his residence on Wednesday. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a one-time rival, has become one of Trump’s most trusted advisers and also is said to be among those Trump is considering as a running mate.

That’s according to a person familiar with Trump’s thinking, who speaks on condition of anonymity because the person is not authorized to discuss the vetting process. Trump said in a Tuesday interview with The Wall Street Journal that Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions is also still in the mix.

Trump has spent weeks consulting with friends and family as he weighs the most important decision of his campaign to date. He’s also met with the candidates and brought his finalists on tour to test their receptions before his crowds. On Monday, it was Christie’s turn in Virginia. On Tuesday, he was joined in Indiana by Pence.

— AP