Trump Family, Staff Divided Between Gingrich, Pence

The Donald is being pulled in two directions, but will make a decision Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

By David Catanese | Senior Politics Writer July 13, 2016, at 1:48 p.m.


Donald Trump's top staffers are reportedly pushing him to choose Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate. The Associated Press

Donald Trump's family prefers Newt Gingrich to be his running mate, but his top staff are pushing hard for Mike Pence.

That's the deliberation facing the presumptive Republican nominee as he enters the final hours of choosing a vice presidential candidate, according to a Republican operative with familiarity of the internal talks.



Senior operatives on the campaign, including chairman Paul Manafort, believe Pence, the Republican governor of Indiana, would help unite the party and serve as a reliable and respectable surrogate for Trump. He would also be "someone they can control," says the source.

But Trump's children have grown to admire Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, who has been a reliably potent surrogate for their father and would bring a personality with spice, something their dad craves. Additionally, Trump has a more comfortable rapport with Gingrich, while he's still getting to know Pence, whom he campaigned with in Indiana Tuesday night.

"He remains undecided, torn between the pros and cons of both finalists," says the operative. "The tug of war is almost entirely about control versus value add, which brings some risk. He's been pulled in both directions for days. He's probably tiring of it. Patience is not necessarily his strongest suit."


In essence, Pence would be the safe choice of the political handlers; Gingrich would be the splashier selection and a roll of the dice.

When asked about the chances of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the operative replied that there's been little recent talk about him internally.

"Not a peep in days," says the source. "Crickets."




Trump and his family made a visit to Pence's home Wednesday morning and the candidate has also been in contact with Gingrich and Christie, adding to the speculation and suspense.



But if anyone has the impulse to go rogue, it's Trump.

It's part of the reason why reporting on his vice presidential deliberations have proven so erratic and inconsistent. He literally changes his mind as the news flow does.

"These things are perishable and the man may tire of the internal debate and decide, 'Screw it, I'm going with a third,'" the operative says.



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