Donald Trump's potential vice presidential picks

As former speaker of the US House of Representatives Newt Gingrich has what Donald Trump needs badly: legislative experience. Gingrich has also been an early supporter of Trump willing to go on the attack against Hillary Clinton. Picking Gingrich would also be a sign that the presumptive Republican presidential candidate is trying to make amends with the GOP, where many still resent him.

If there was a competition among Republicans who is most eager to become Donald Trump's running mate Chris Christie would win hands down. The New Jersey governor's U-turn from presidential hopeful and Trump competitior to fawning Trump supporter was so swift, it shocked even the most hardboiled political observers. Christie is now heading up Trump's transition team, a key role in any campaign.

The junior Senator from Iowa would tick many of the right boxes as a Trump vice presidential candidate: Ernst, the first woman representing her state in Congress, is a combat veteran with experience in Iraq where she commanded a unit of Iowa's national guard soldiers. She has legislative knowhow on both state and national level and is seen by some as a rising star in the Republican Party.

Endorsing Trump just before Super Tuesday, Jeff Sessions was the first GOP senator to side with the party's presumptive nominee. Trump in turn has said he is considering Sessions as a possible running mate and made the Alabama senator the head of his foreign policy advisory team. Sessions is a strong Trump surrogate, defending, for instance, the candidate's controversial Muslim travel ban.

After his weak showing in the GOP primary, Marco Rubio has decided to run for his US Senate seat again and stated that he is not interested in the vice presidential slot. But unlike other Republicans, Rubio has also said that despite their differences he would vote for Trump. According to polls a Trump-Rubio lineup would fare comparatively well. It would also be a strong sign of a united GOP.

Picking the Tennesee senator as running mate would send several messages. To Republicans, selecting the head of the Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee would be a sign that Trump is ready to make peace with the party's national security establishment, which has been alarmed by his rise. It would also signal to concerned mainstream voters that they needn't be afraid of Trump's foreign policy.