The veepstakes goes 'Apprentice': Will Trump really pick Rubio, Vance or Burgum?

For months, the media-industrial complex has churned out useless speculation about the veepstakes, much of it generated by the wannabe candidates themselves.

Out of nowhere, these stories would appear: Tom Cotton, an unusually strong candidate! Ben Carson! Byron Donalds! Glenn Youngkin! People who you knew, whatever their qualifications, didn’t really have a shot at becoming Donald Trump’s running mate.

And then there was the former president himself, who met or campaigned with most of the contenders, watching their TV interviews, in a process resembling "The Apprentice."

A particularly absurd moment came when Axios reported that Nikki Haley was under "active consideration" for VP. The piece collapsed the next day when Trump put out a statement saying Haley was most definitely not being considered, which was no surprise given the bad blood between them and her lack of an endorsement.

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What made most of the stories shaky is that Trump hadn’t made up his mind. Now he says he has, but hasn’t told the lucky contender. Of course, there’s nothing stopping Trump from changing his mind at the last minute, which he is famously prone to do.

Still, with the vetting process under way and multiple news outlets reporting that it is down to a fortunate trio, I’m inclined to take those stories more seriously.

Those three are Marco Rubio, J.D. Vance and Doug Burgum.

Each brings strengths and weaknesses to the table, so such decisions often boil down to whom Trump is most comfortable with. Eight years ago, it was Mike Pence, who was the ultimate loyalist until Jan. 6.

Rubio, the only one with a national reputation, might seem a no-brainer. To name the first Hispanic