VP drama

Trump draws out VP drama after Nice attack

Top adviser Manafort says 'I think' Trump has reached a final decision.

By Nick Gass

The guessing game about Donald Trump’s running mate is still on.

Trump’s top adviser on Friday morning gave few clues about the timing of an announcement or who the pick will be, and sounded a little uncertain himself.

"I think that Mr. Trump has reached a decision, but he hasn't — he isn't prepared to announce it yet," Paul Manafort told “Fox & Friends.” "Until he announces it, there's no formal nominee.”

Trump appears to have settled on Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, whose deep well of political experience serves as a counterweight to Trump’s go-with-your-gut brand of campaigning, and was poised to make a formal announcement about his vice presidential pick Friday morning in Manhattan.

But Thursday night's terrorist attack in Nice, France, upended his plans, and Trump on Thursday evening postponed the official event, once again throwing the VP hunt into a tailspin.

While Manafort said Thursday night that the campaign would be putting something out Friday morning about the forthcoming announcement, an update has so far not materialized, and the clock is ticking — Pence faces a Friday noon deadline to file for reelection as governor this fall.

Instead, Manafort went on multiple cable shows Friday morning and simply reassured eager watchers that an announcement would come before the Republican National Convention starts Monday in Cleveland.

“He was moved by what happened last night,” Manafort said. “It affected him and emotionally he's — the carnage in Paris and the idea that this is, is just non-stop and seems to be happening quicker and quicker and more and more places. And he thought it was totally inappropriate in the aftermath of that tragedy to do something even as important as what he was going to do this morning. So he said he wanted to just take a little time.”

Manafort was also asked to account for Trump's remarks the previous night.

Trump called into Fox News Channel Friday night where he said that he had not yet made his "final, final decision." In another telephone interview on the same network later in the evening, Trump suggested the delay in formally announcing his pick would "absolutely not" affect his final decision, remarking that would be "totally inappropriate."

Multiple reports also noted that Trump told donors at a fundraiser in California late Thursday that he’s ready to announce his pick and that such an announcement would come over the weekend.

“I don't know that he has second thoughts,” Manafort said on Friday morning. “However, I know the reason that the events was cancelled was out of respect,” adding that Trump reacted “emotionally” to the attack in France.

“Well, until he announces it he hasn't,” Manafort also said. “Whether he wants to announce or hasn't made up his mind there are two different questions.”

Manafort is said to have been pushing Trump to pick Pence, who was just one of several contenders Trump publicly auditioned for the role. Thursday unspooled in an extraordinary fashion, as multiple news outlets reported that Trump had extended an offer to Pence, but it appeared that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich were still jockeying for the job.

Pence even went so far as to fly to the New York area on Thursday night before Trump called off Friday’s event.

In a sign of how much things still appear to be in flux, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who had been mentioned as a finalist but whose name had been largely absent from reporting about Trump's final decision, would not say on Friday morning whether the Trump campaign had called him to say he is out of the running.

"I'm just telling you that Donald Trump — what I do know is that Donald Trump is not picking somebody for Donald Trump," said Flynn, a lifelong Democrat who most recently served as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. "Donald Trump is picking somebody for this country, and for everybody out there, you know, I know that there's going to be all kinds of arguments because I understand our political system far more than most people."

As to whether, as Newt Gingrich suggested to Sean Hannity on Thursday night, that the selection is likely Pence and not he, Manafort demurred when asked when he would let the people on the shortlist know that they did not get the job.

"Well Mr. Trump is planning on making an announcement this weekend. And so people will certainly know in a very short time," Manafort said. The campaign will release more guidance on how it will proceed with the vice presidential announcement on Friday, Manafort added.

"So I would think it's going to happen before we go to Cleveland," Manafort said.

"Definitely not today?" co-host Brian Kilmeade asked, to which Manafort responded, "It will happen before we go to Cleveland."

In a subsequent interview with CNN, Manafort remarked that the possibility of a Friday announcement "will be discussed," but said he did not think it would come because "I think [Trump] thinks it's just inappropriate to do today."

"And you're not worried about compromising Mike Pence's opportunity to run for governor?" asked "New Day" host Chris Cuomo.

"Donald Trump, whoever he selects, and whoever he says is the selection, will honor his word," Manafort responded. "That's who he is."