Trump campaign will host Florida donor retreat with potential VP picks

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign will host a major donor retreat next week in Florida featuring prominent Republicans widely regarded as prospective running mates.

A copy of the invitation obtained by POLITICO lists 16 special guests for the May 3-5 event in Palm Beach. Among them are some of the top names being mentioned for Trump’s general election ticket: Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Tim Scott of South Carolina and J.D. Vance of Ohio, as well as Govs. Doug Burgum of North Dakota and Kristi Noem of South Dakota, and Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Byron Donalds (R-Fla.).

Trump himself is listed at the top of the invitation as a special guest.

The former president has been stuck in New York over the past two weeks attending his hush money trial, though he has been free to attend events during the weekends and on Wednesdays when the trial isn’t in session. The trial is expected to last at least six weeks.

The retreat will also feature high-profile, Trump-aligned Republicans who aren’t necessarily on Trump’s shortlist for running mate. House Speaker Mike Johnson is set to attend, along with Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Reps. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), Senate candidates Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania and Bernie Moreno of Ohio and former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway. “Additional special guests,” according to the invitation, are “forthcoming.”

A Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The invitation-only affair is limited to current donors to the Trump operation. Shortly after Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee last month, his campaign and the RNC established a joint fundraising committee that can accept checks up to $814,600 per person. Around 400 donors are expected to attend, according to a person familiar with the planning for the event.

The event represents the latest in a series of de facto vice president tryouts. A number of would-be contenders stumped for Trump during the primaries, and spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February.

Trump has been privately asking allies and advisers for their thoughts on prospective candidates. And he has maintained close relationships with many of the people seen as possible choices, including Stefanik and Vance. He has also recently met with Noem and hit the campaign trail in recent months with Burgum and Scott, who each endorsed the former president after dropping out of the Republican primary.

But those close to Trump say he has not narrowed down the vice president list and is more focused on other matters, such as the hush money trial. They do not expect him to close in on a choice until closer to the start of the Republican National Convention, which is to take place mid-July in Milwaukee.