Vice presidents can make or break a candidate. Here's how Trump is choosing

In January, former President Donald Trump was dropping hints about his running mate while appearing on Fox News: "I mean, I know who it's going to be — let's do another show sometime."

The former president has been hinting for months, but still hasn't given a strong indication of who he will go with.

Vice presidential candidates are usually chosen to shake up the race, or give the nominee a strategic advantage.

NPR senior correspondent and editor Ron Elving says a VP pick doesn't have to be a superstar or political genius: "Ideally, the goal is to find someone who helps you actually win the presidency. But as a practical matter, probably the goal is to first do no harm."

There's also the strategy to pick someone who can help you get popular with a new audience, like John McCain's vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, a then-relatively unknown governor of Alaska who skyrocketed to notoriety and helped boost McCain's numbers with white women.

In this case, Elving says doing no harm is the first priority: "Trump doesn't need any more controversy. He doesn't need anybody who carries any baggage of his own or her own."

The next priority? Elving says it should be creating some form of unity in the GOP.

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Wide speculation on candidates

In just a few weeks, one of the biggest events of the election season will take place at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, WI.

Trump, who is the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party, shared his current thinking during a recent Fox News appearance: "I have sort of a pretty good idea. Look, we have some really talented people. I have a pretty good idea. But probably I'll do it the way it's usually done."

Jeongyoon Han, on NPR's politics team, says that while the mystery has drawn on, it looks like things are finally paring down: "Trump said there were as many as 15 candidates in the mix early on, but that list is whittling down fast. He recently asked for the financial records of eight people, which is a sign that he's vetting these candidates."

NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez says this reality TV-style selection process isn't an accident.

"It's Trump's MO. He's a showman. It's a way for him to generate headlines — to control the narrative. He's inviting the speculation, talking about it on the campaign trail and stoking it for fundraising," Ordoñez said.

"From early on there has been little doubt about Trump being the nominee," he added. "So the focus has naturally turned to the VP candidate's race, and drawing this out allows Trump more opportunities to see how they deal with the media scrutiny, he likes people who are good on TV."

The possible picks

Florida Senator Marco Rubio and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum are some of the names that have risen to the top.

There's also South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik.

"These are loyal Trump allies and have made an effort to support him without stealing the spotlight from him," says Han. "They've put the ball in his court, and Trump is in crunch time as he makes a final decision."

Han explains that back in 2016, former Indiana Governor Mike Pence was able to give Trump the boost he needed among evangelicals to cinch his victory.

The group had previously been skeptical about Trump — but now, they're some of his strongest supporters. So who does he need to appeal to now in this bid for reelection?

Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who worked on Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential campaign, says this time, Trump will need a VP that will help him reach audiences across the aisle: "He's going to be looking for somebody who appeals to independent voters, to conservatives and potentially even some Democrats."

This episode was produced by Erika Ryan. It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Megan Pratz. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.