Run on a GOP ticket with Donald Trump? Big names steer clear

WASHINGTON — It is a time-honoured tradition for politicians to deny any interest in the vice-presidency.

But this year, with the possibility of Donald Trump as the Republican presidential nominee, they really mean it.

“Never,” said Mr Chris Schrimpf, a spokesman for Governor John Kasich of Ohio, who is still running against Mr Trump. “No chance.”

“Hahahahahahahahaha,” wrote Ms Sally Bradshaw, a senior adviser to Mr Jeb Bush, when asked if he would consider it.

“Scott Walker has a visceral negative reaction to Trump’s character,” said Mr Ed Goeas, a longtime adviser to the Wisconsin Governor.

Or as Senator Lindsey Graham put it: “That’s like buying a ticket on the Titanic.”

A remarkable range of leading Republicans, including Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina and Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, have been emphatic publicly or with their advisers and allies that they do not want to be considered as Mr Trump’s running mate.

The recoiling amounts to a rare rebuke for a front-runner: Politicians usually signal that they are not interested politely through back channels, or submit to the selection process, if only to burnish their national profiles.

But Mr Trump has a singular track record of picking fights with obvious potential running mates such as Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who has indicated a lack of interest in the vice-presidency generally and has yet to reconcile with Mr Trump publicly.

Ms Haley and another potential pick, Governor Susana Martinez of New Mexico, have sharply criticised Mr Trump at recent party gatherings and do not want to be associated with his sometimes-angry tone, according to advisers and close associates who have spoken with these Republicans.

Several Republican consultants said their clients were concerned that Mr Trump’s unusually high unfavourable ratings with all voters and his unpopularity among women and Hispanics could doom him as a General Election candidate and damage their own future political prospects if they were on his ticket.

Still, elected officials do have a way of coming around to the vice-presidency, and Mr Trump said in an interview on Saturday that he was in the early stages of mending fences and building deeper relationships with leading Republicans.

And in a sign of growing acceptance that Trump is their likely nominee, several Republicans made it clear that they would join him on the ticket because they think he can win, or because they regard the call to serve as their duty.

Mr Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, as well as Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, said in interviews that they would consider joining the ticket if Mr Trump offered.

Two governors, Chris Christie of New Jersey and Mary Fallin of Oklahoma, have also told allies that they were open to being Mr Trump’s running mate.

“If a potential president says, ‘I need you,’ it would be very hard for a patriotic citizen to say no,” said Mr Gingrich.

“People can criticise a nominee, but ultimately there are very few examples of people turning down the vice-presidency.”

Mr Trump, who could well become the presumptive Republican nominee early Wednesday (Singapore time) by winning the Indiana primary, is just starting to mull vice-presidential prospects and has no favourite in mind, he said in the interview.

Mr Trump said he wanted someone with “a strong political background, who was well respected on the Hill, who can help me with legislation, and who could be a great president.”

He declined to discuss potential picks in any detail, but he briefly praised three governors as possible contenders — Mr Kasich, Mr Christie and Mr Rick Scott of Florida — and said he would also consider candidates who were women, black or Hispanic.

A spokeswoman for Mr Scott said he was focused on being Governor.

Asked if he was surprised about the array of Republicans who are uncomfortable being his running mate, Mr Trump said: “I don’t care. Whether people support or endorse me or not, it makes zero influence on the voters. Historically, people don’t vote based on who is vice-president. I want someone who can help me govern.”

A cross-section of leading Republicans agree that his most sensible choice would be an experienced female governor or senator, given that he would most likely face Mrs Hillary Clinton in November and need support from a majority of white women to offset her strong support among blacks and Hispanics.

Yet Mrs Clinton is ahead of Mr Trump with white women by double-digit percentages, according to a recent CBS poll.

The pool of Republican women in major offices is relatively small, and Mr Trump has alienated some of them. Ms Haley denounced him for not quickly disavowing support from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, and Ms Martinez has criticised his remarks about Hispanics.

Both governors had endorsed Mr Rubio for president. A spokesman for Ms Martinez said she “isn’t interested in serving as vice-president”, while a spokesman for Ms Haley declined to comment.

“There are some Republicans who would’ve said yes to running with Romney or McCain or Bush but would say no to Trump,” said Mr Curt Anderson, a Republican strategist, referring to the party’s last three presidential nominees.

“The issue is, no one knows what we’re dealing with here. Is it possible that Trump faces a historic landslide loss? Sure. Is it possible he beats the hell out of Clinton? Sure. No one knows — no one has predicted Trump right for a long time.”

Ms David Winston, a veteran Republican pollster, said Mr Trump’s first challenge in finding a running mate was lowering his unfavourability ratings of 60 per cent or more, because prominent politicians would not want to join his ticket if he cannot turn those figures around.

Mr Winston dismissed the notion — put forward by some Trump advisers — that the candidate could improve his ratings by picking a woman, a Hispanic or other figure with demographic appeal. “He simply won’t be able to convince any top-tier candidate to run with him if he can’t get those unfavourable numbers down,” said Mr Winston.

Mr Trump’s best hope may be Republican enmity for Mrs Clinton, said some Republican strategists. They predicted that Mr Trump would ultimately have more options than his sceptics might assume because Republicans will unify in June and July with a deep and shared determination to beat her, and the traditional thrill of being considered for vice-president could then kick in.

“I think he may have more choices than many people would suspect, because a lot of people will be flattered to be asked,” said Mr Russ Schriefer, a Republican adviser to Mr Romney’s campaign in 2012 and to Mr Christie during his 2016 presidential bid.

Mr Schriefer emphasised that he had not talked to Mr Christie about the vice-presidency, but other Mr Christie confidants said he supported Mr Trump strongly and would be willing to consider the No 2 role. A spokesman for Mr Christie, asked about the Governor’s willingness, pointed to Mr Christie’s response about the vice-presidency at a recent news conference, where he said he would evaluate the offer “for any position in government”.

As a political novice, Mr Trump will be widely judged on whom he chooses — and how and why he chooses the person — because voters and other Republican leaders will look to his pick to evaluate his priorities for the kind of advisers he would want as president.

“This is a big deal because it’s the first major decision he’ll be making as the nominee, and it’s important that the American public see his decision-making process and how he goes through making such a big decision,” said Mr Scott Reed, the US Chamber of Commerce’s senior strategist. THE NEW YORK TIMES