Trump 'narrows VP search to THREE candidates'

Donald Trump's list of potential running mates has been narrowed to just three.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) are the three remaining contenders after the former president's team said earlier this summer it was down to about seven candidates.

Trump said over the weekend that he had made up his mind about who he plans to add to his presidential ticket in November, but that no one else knows.

More than a dozen sources involved or with knowledge of the process confirmed to NBC News that the pick is either Burgum, Vance or Rubio.

But really, some claim it's down to Burgum and Vance and say that there are doubts over Rubio's enthusiasm for the job – and the issue of them both being Florida residents could pose issues with the 'inhabitant clause' in the 12th Amendment.

Donald Trump's veepstakes race is down to three people, according to new reports – but the former president said he already decided who will join him on the Republican 2024 ticket

Trump told reporters at his rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday that his 2024 running mate will be at the CNN debate in Atlanta on Thursday.

The former president revealed he has made a decision on who will run as vice president on the Republican ticket, but that the individual he picked doesn't even know yet.

Reporters asked Trump ahead of his rally on Saturday whether he had settled on a running mate with just over four months until the election. 'In my mind, yeah,' Trump replied.

'No, nobody knows,' he said when asked if he had yet informed the individual they are his choice for VP.

Trump is heading to Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday for his first debate with President Joe Biden in the 2024 general election race.

The debate is one of the earliest in the election cycle in modern history and comes just a month after the former president was found guilty in Manhattan of 34 felony charges related to the hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

Trump told NBC his pick will 'most likely' be at the debate on Thursday.  

The selection of Trump's VP has ramped up in weeks ahead of the debate and the Republican National Convention taking place July 15-18.

Over the last several months, Trump was most seriously considering a list of eight Republicans to join him on the ticket in November, his campaign confirmed to multiple outlets.

The short list included; Burgum, Vance, Rubio, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and Trump's former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

Burgum and Scott both were in the 2024 race for the Republican nomination against Trump before dropping out and endorsing the former president.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) are the top two contenders, according to more than a dozen sources close with the selection process

While Trump has praised all these individuals and others, claiming they would make good selections, he has also downplayed the impact his running mate will play on his election.

'It's never really had that much of an effect on an election,' Trump told Fox earlier this year.

Several candidates received vetting materials from Trump's campaign in recent weeks.

Trump has said he might reveal publicly his choice for No. 2 at the GOP Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Immediately after the debate, Trump will head straight to Virginia for a rally Friday outside of Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

Meanwhile, Biden will go directly to North Carolina for a rally and Vice President Kamala Harris will head to Nevada for an event on mobilizing Latino voters. Both North Carolina and Nevada are battleground states essentially for Biden if he wants to win reelection.