Earlier this week, former President Donald Trump confirmed that his running mate pick would be present at this Thursday’s highly anticipated presidential debate against Joe Biden.
Trump confirmed that his vice-presidential selection has been made.
While the CNN-hosted debate will not have a live audience after the Biden campaign requested it, a number of shortlisted Trump candidates have confirmed they will be at the event.
Despite Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy not being on the alleged shortlist of candidates, he confirmed that he will be in Atlanta on Thursday.
However, his name has been floated as a potential Trump running mate after he suspended his presidential campaign earlier this year.
Other candidates on the alleged shortlist will include:
Dr. Ben Carson
Senator Tim Scott (R-SC)
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum
Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH)
According to ABC News, seven candidates received documents from the Trump Campaign during the early stages of the vetting process.
Additional candidates who received requests for some level of background information include:
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL)
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY)
Rubio, Stefanik, and Donalds have confirmed they will be at the debate, meaning that all seven candidates on the alleged shortlist will be present.
However, according to insiders, Trump is reportedly considering several “dark horse” names, including Ramaswamy and Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
“Trump is looking for three things,” one Trump Campaign insider recently told the New York Post.
“He’s looking for who can raise money, he’s looking for who is an effective surrogate on TV with adversarial media, and he’s looking at who will do the best job debating Kamala Harris.”
READ: Trump Ignites “Running Mate” Rumors after Making Remarks About Potential Female Running Mate