As the deadline for him to pick a running mate approaches, former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday acknowledged that some of his top contenders have some factors that could complicate their being chosen.
Mr. Trump, who views abortion as one of his biggest political vulnerabilities, told Brian Kilmeade on Fox News Radio that Doug Burgum’s signing of a strict abortion ban in North Dakota, where he is governor, was “a little bit of an issue.”
And when asked about Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, Mr. Trump acknowledged that with the Constitution potentially making it more challenging for two residents of the same state to share a presidential ticket, selecting Mr. Rubio would be “more complicated.”
Still, Mr. Trump lauded both Mr. Rubio and Mr. Burgum as “great” men and offered similar praise to Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio. Mr. Trump did not preemptively raise any potential issues with Mr. Vance, and he was asked just one question: whether there was any truth to a report that Mr. Vance’s beard would keep him from being Mr. Trump’s running mate.
“I’ve never heard that one,” said Mr. Trump, who is known for favoring political appointees who look as if they had come from “central casting.”
He added that he thought Mr. Vance “looks like a young Abraham Lincoln.”
Mr. Trump did not deny that the three men are the leading contenders to become the Republican vice-presidential nominee. He has fed into speculation surrounding his potential running mate for months, turning the vetting process into public auditions and displays of fealty that he has relished.
But the countdown is nearing its end. The Republican National Convention, where the party will formally nominate its ticket, begins on Monday in Milwaukee, and whomever Mr. Trump picks as his running mate is expected to address the convention in exactly one week, on Wednesday.
His interview with Mr. Kilmeade stood out given that Mr. Trump has not generally offered explicit evaluations of the potential political liabilities of the people on his shortlist. But it provided only a small glimpse into the range of issues that he and his allies have been weighing.
For example, Mr. Trump was asked only to discuss Mr. Burgum’s signing into law a near-total ban on abortion, one that was passed overwhelmingly by North Dakota’s Legislature. But Mr. Rubio previously cosponsored a federal bill that would have banned abortion after 15 weeks, legislation that Mr. Vance said during his Senate campaign that he would support. And Mr. Trump also tried to distance Mr. Burgum from the ban he had signed, saying: “He’s taken a very strong stance — or the state has. I don’t know if it’s Doug.”
Mr. Trump also praised Mr. Rubio over the remarks he delivered at a Trump rally on Tuesday night at Mr. Trump’s golf resort in Doral, Fla. “Marco was great last night, very popular,” Mr. Trump said.
He suggested that he is not ruling out choosing Mr. Rubio because the two men both live in Florida. The 12th Amendment to the Constitution would most likely prevent Florida’s 30 electors — a key prize for candidates — from selecting both a president and vice president from their home state.
“It makes it more complicated,” Mr. Trump said. “There are people that don’t have that complication.”
Still, Mr. Trump added, “it’s fairly easily fixed, but you have to do something with delegates, or there has to be a resignation.”
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