EXCLUSIVE — The Democratic National Committee is gearing up to launch a new billboard campaign in North Carolina this weekend, aiming at candidates being considered for former President Donald Trump’s vice president.
The billboard specifically targets North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Both previously ran for the GOP presidential nomination but later suspended their campaigns and are now seen as potential contenders to become Trump’s running mate. The billboard coincides with Burgum and Ramaswamy’s scheduled speeches at the North Carolina GOP convention over the weekend.
“North Carolinians should steer clear of Koury Convention Center in Greensboro over Memorial Day weekend: two of Donald Trump’s wannabe running mates are in the Tar Heel state to force an extreme and unpopular MAGA agenda on working families,” said Alex Floyd, a spokesperson for the DNC, in a statement. “Doug Burgum and Vivek Ramaswamy are already tripping over themselves to sign onto Trump’s MAGA agenda to ban abortion, support policies that could raise costs for working families, and rip away millions of families’ access to health care.”
“Just like the rest of Trump’s VP contenders, they know that Trump doesn’t want anyone but the most far-right MAGA extremists in his Republican Party — or with him on the GOP ticket,” Floyd added.
The billboard is the first ad being launched as part of the DNC’s “MAGA Veepstakes Project,” which debuted earlier this week. The project aims to attack possible running mate contenders and hold them “accountable as they sign onto Trump’s dangerous, out-of-touch MAGA agenda as part of their desperate race to the bottom,” the DNC stated in a press release.
Trump has not yet indicated who he is leaning toward for his running mate, although the former president has suggested a short list of possible contenders that includes Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and J.D. Vance (R-OH), Dr. Ben Carson, and House GOP Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY).
“We have so many,” Trump said at a campaign event in New York when asked about his picks for vice president. “You could take people like Ben Carson, people like Marco Rubio, or J.D. Vance. I mean, there’s so many. Elise is doing a fantastic job, but I could go on for quite a long time. We have many people who would do a really fantastic job.”
It’s not clear when Trump will announce his choice for his No. 2, although the former president indicated it would likely be during the GOP convention, which is set to take place in mid-July in Wisconsin.
