Former US President Donald Trump delivers a speech on the day he appears in New York court after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury following an investigation into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, in Palm Beach, Florida, United States, on April 4, 2023. .
Marco Bello | Reuters
Former President Donald Trump will travel from a New York courtroom to his luxury private club in Florida this weekend, to mingle with potential vice presidential candidates and wealthy Republican donors.
Trump is expected to appear in court in Lower Manhattan on Thursday and Friday, where he is on trial and charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in a hush-money political money case.
After that, the former president will return home to Florida, where he will lead the Republican National Committee’s donor retreat in the spring.
The annual weekend traditionally brings together major donors and GOP heavyweights. But this year, the list of “special guests” expected in Florida reads like a list of potential Trump running mates, according to a schedule obtained by CNBC.
Republican Senators Marco Rubio of Florida, JD Vance of Ohio and Tim Scott of South Carolina are all “special guests.” The same goes for North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, another shortlist. Also expected is South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, fresh from a dog shooting scandal. So is New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, one of Trump’s staunchest defenders in Congress.
All would be considered potential vice presidential candidates on Trump’s presumptive list.
As for when Trump might announce his vice presidential nominee, the former president said Wednesday that he doesn’t plan to reveal his choice until after the Republican National Convention, which begins July 15 in Milwaukee.
“We’ll make that decision, I think, closer to Wisconsin time, if you want to know the truth,” Trump told a local Fox affiliate in Wisconsin. “It’s very early right now.”
Weekend agenda
The Florida events will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Palm Beach and at Trump’s nearby club, Mar-a-Lago.
The retreat will begin Friday at 5:30 p.m. with a reception at the Four Seasons with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Stefanik and RNC co-chair Lara Trump, who is married to the former president’s son, Eric Trump.
Dinner attendees later in the evening will hear speeches from Rubio and Scott, among others.
A general view of Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property, ahead of his party event to mark the Super Tuesday primary elections, in Palm Beach, Florida, United States -United States, March 5, 2024.
Marco Bello | Reuters
On Saturday, guests will come to Mar-a-Lago for lunch. There, Trump will speak alongside Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Wesley Hunt of Texas, as well as his former presidential primary opponent, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
Saturday night’s dinner at the Four Seasons will be headlined by Vance and include speeches from three prominent Republican Senate candidates: Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, Dave McCormick, who is running to unseat Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey , and Bernie Moreno, the party’s nominee to challenge Democratic incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio.
Although Trump has not confirmed any interviews, it’s not hard to imagine vice presidential candidates heading to Mar-a-Lago over the weekend to meet one-on-one with the man at the top of the list.
After a weekend in Florida, Trump is expected to return to the New York courtroom Monday morning, where his trial is expected to resume.
cnbc
