Trump zeroes in on his VP finalists: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.

In today’s edition, we report on the final stages of Donald Trump's VP search. Plus, chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander looks back to last debate between Trump and Joe Biden — more than 1,300 days ago — for clues about the next one.

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Trump zeroes in on his VP finalists

By Henry J. Gomez, Jonathan Allen, Dasha Burns, Carol E. Lee, Matt Dixon and Olympia Sonnier

Two top finalists are emerging in former President Donald Trump’s search for a running mate: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.

In interviews with NBC News, more than a dozen sources wired into the process described an intensifying debate over the strengths and weaknesses each candidate would bring to the ticket.

A third prospect, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, remains in contention, sources said. But doubts about his enthusiasm for the job and concerns about navigating a constitutional hang-up that would require Trump or Rubio to establish residency in another state have persisted in ways that could jeopardize his chances.

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Publicly, Trump has said he expects to announce his choice closer to, or at, the Republican National Convention, which begins July 15 in Milwaukee. But three sources familiar with discussions said timing remains a topic of debate.

One option is for Trump to announce days earlier — immediately after his July 11 sentencing on 34 felony counts — in an effort to quickly move past a damaging news cycle.