Inside the shadow campaigns trying to influence Trump’s VP search

As former president Donald Trump narrows his focus on a handful of potential running mates, the behind-the-scenes lobbying among close advisers and donors has intensified with sharp divisions emerging over who is best suited to join the ticket.

As former President Donald Trump narrows his focus on a handful of potential running mates, the behind-the-scenes lobbying among close advisers and donors has intensified with sharp divisions emerging over who is best suited to join the ticket. In every corner of Trump’s orbit – from his family and conservative media figures to former advisers and donors – people are trying to get in the president’s ear before he finalizes a pick, several people close to the former president tell CNN. His oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., has made his affinity for Sen. J.D. Vance well known, hosting the Ohio Republican on his web show and pushing him in conversations with his father. Rupert Murdoch has urged Trumpworld to consider North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum while showering the little-known Republican with friendly coverage in the conservative mogul’s media empire. Meanwhile, one of Murdoch’s stars, Fox News host Sean Hannity, has gone to bat for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, arguing the son of Cuban immigrants could help Trump with Latino voters in key battlegrounds. The shadow campaigning in the veepstakes has become increasingly urgent. There is less than a month until the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee — the deadline Trump has set to announce his nominee for vice president — and internal conversations regarding who the former president will ultimately pick have entered a new phase. Vetting of the candidates has commenced, advisers have built pros and cons lists and Trump himself has taken on a more serious and earnest approach to determining who he envisions is best fit to serve alongside him, Trump’s advisers and people close to the former president say. Trump’s campaign insists the former president is his own best adviser and he alone will make the call. His shortlist remains in flux, his advisers caution, noting that the former president is liable to change his mind until the moment he formally announces his pick.