We are following this closely all day and night right here on msnbc. Also on our agenda, if not pence, then whom . Another vp finalist opening up this afternoon with an exclusive interview right here on msnbc. Im ready. No matter what happens. And if it doesnt happen, im ready for whatever is next too. But word this afternoon from one of trumps family members, now urging him not to go with Chris Christie. We will tell you who is saying that and why in just a minute. Thats another msnbc exclusive. This time with katy tur. And the last harrah for never trump. High stakes convention in cleveland does not turn out the way trumps enemys hoped. Thank you for your cooperation today. Obviously we did not stand for three hours because after jam here. Going nowhere fast but only one of several headaches trump is facing as his culmination in cleveland approaches. We will get into that and a whole lot more. But we begin with our top story. Has trump already made his pick. All sorts of reports circulating at this hour that trump is poised to pick indiana governor mike pence as his running mate. New york times reporting quote mr. Trumps advisors told National Republican officials that they are preparing it make an announcement with mr. Pence. But the Trump Campaign officials telling nbc news that any talk of final pick is premature and that no decision has been made. He already announced he will hold an event to unveil his running mate at 11 00 eastern time tomorrow morning right here in new york city. That is just less than 19 hours from now. A very volatile situation. But for the moment, mike pence is squarely in the spotlight. That remain the keyword. If trump turns to mike pence, what would he be getting . Lets take a look here. Obvious pro, if youre donald trump looking at mike pence, you shore up the base. Social conservatives, christian conservatives who maybe have doubts. Lets go back to that for a second. Who maybe have doubts about donald trump. They could be reassured by mike pence and can we good back it that for a second . Theres a picture there i want you to see. Look at that. Paul ryan standing there with mike pence. Paul ryan in a very uncomfortable position right now. A lot of republicans like paul ryan in a very uncomfortable decision supporting donald trump. But they like mike pence. They are close with mike pence. That could bring ryan in the fold. This is controversy. If you remember, thats not what we are looking for but there is controversy around mike pence as governor of indiana. There it is. If you remember anything about mike pence as governor of indiana the past few years it was the freedom bill he passed that saw there is a choice to serve as gay weddings and that controversy would go into a big way which may be the down side. Pence maybe one of four finalists in the mix at this hour. Another one of them is new Jersey Governor Chris Christie and just hours ago, christie broke his sigh leps on the veep stakes and gave an exclusive one on one to our own nicole wallace. When you checked your blackberry, you heard any news . No. You still do not know . No. You think donald trump made a decision . Dont know. You really dont know i swear, i dont know. I dont know. Your role is his adviser, what would you tell him . I wouldnt advise him on this. Because im biassed. And also in the final round, newt gingrich, gingrich said earlier he expected to get word from trump by early this afternoon. If he would be the pick or not. But as of about 2 30 in afternoon gingrich told Kelly Odonnell that it has been radio silence from trump world. He still hasnt heard anything. And of course there is also a potential wild card hanging around in all of this, alabama senator jeff sigs sessions. He was called to indiana for a lastminute meeting with trump yesterday. That got a lot of people talking. He may be in the mix. And since this is trump, the man who likes to pull the rabbit out of the hat, there is a possibility that all of this is one big misdirection an he will pick someone who has been on no ones radar. Always got to consider that possibility with a showman like donald trump. All sort of chatter right now. All sort of rumors whizzing around. Kelly odonnell has been all over this. So kelly, lots of rumors, lots of speculation, what do we know right now . You laid it out well, steve. What we do know is that donald trump himself has been wrestling with this decision. He understands there are those within his own inner circle and family who are pulling for different picks among the contenders. Three im told. Pence, christie and gingrich. And within the family, there are these competing views. At the same time, trump im told is sort of going with his gut versus what people are advising him. It is a very big decision. Big ramifications for his Campaign Going forward. It could ultimately tee up a future nominee for the party. There is a lot riding on this. And trump who has relied so heavily on his family and close aides, always a small campaign. It is difficult one would presume for imnot to have a few nan mouse ruling from those he counts on and because of that, we wait. And thats the indications we have. All of this has to be filtered through the idea there might be different sources who support one candidate over another to be the Vice President ial nominee. And that may influence the kinds of things were hearing and whats happening. And im told that the reports related to governor mike pence are premature but that that should not be interpreted as somehow he wouldnt be the choice or that would be in some way counting against him. So as you said, is this the ultimate misdirection . Is this simply wanting to take more time . Because there is more time . Is this creating the cliff hanger of the campaign . Any of those things could be true. But repeatedly ive been assured that there is no decision. That the people involved, top contenders have not received a equal from trump to say a decision has been made. And until that happens, were in a holding pattern. Now Donald Trump Jr who spoke with katy tur came out and backed up a lot of what i just reported. We had been talking about it from a range of sources before that. He, too, said it is down to three. A decision is expected today. And we wait. At this point, i think all of the people who are rooting for one contender over another are on pins and needles and donald trump who lwas on the west coas for scheduled fundraisers may be taking in some sunshine to contemplate this decision before he makes the call. Steve . Kelly odonnell in cleveland. Thank you. Kelly mentioned Donald Trump Jr, son of donald trump, spoke with our you own katy tur moments ago. Lets show you what he said about all of this. Whats the most important factor forhim . I think there are many factors. Someone who has some d. C. Experience and political experience in this way. I think thats big factor. I mean, my father is good at everything he has ever done in his life but this is also a new game and we recognize the gravity of the situation and getting in on day one and start implementing the changes we want to bring to this nation. Thats critical pu have to have an understanding of how it works. And how that dynamic will work between the two of them. Personality and my father has a unique personality. An incredible guy. But some people cant handle it. They dont know how to deal with it. You cant appease everyone. Doesnt work in a country with 300 million and you cant appease everyone. We dont want our children and grandchildren to deal with the mess we have right now. What does he say to the kids . My father will speak to everyone. His entire career. He spend the time with the door man, hanging sheet rock, pouring concrete, he values their opinions. Sometimes more than the quote unquote experts. We have seen what the experts, based on their prognostication, and you see what their opinions mean, which is very little. He speaks to everyone. But he will always come up with his own decision. Is he speaking to advisers . He speaking to his advicers. Foreign policy advisers . Of course. There are other politicians. Guys, competition we speak to regularly. Developed a great relation with rance at rnc and those guys there. Donald trump jr opening up about his fathers final deliberation. One other important piece, we heard from Kelly Odonnell, there is relevant reporting from her about Chris Christie and his prospects of being Donald Trumps running mate. Jarod kushner, married to ivanka, that jarod is pushing against the idea of Chris Christie being running mate for personal reasons. What we presume that is all about is that Chris Christie when he was a federal prosecutor about a decade ago the u. S. Attorney for new jersey, he prosecuted and threw in jail jarod kushners father, who was a real estate mogul in new jersey. So what will ultimately tip the scales, you have donald trump asoninlaw according to Kelly Odonnells reporting now advocating against Chris Christie. Thats the question. Who has Donald Trumps ear in these critical final minutes. Lets discuss more about what goes on here in the end stages of the veep stakes with former congressman tom davis. Republican from virginia. Served with mike pence in the house for a few years. Let me start with that question. You know mike pence. Youve seen the reporting out there. If mike pence is the pick, what would he bring to this ticket . First of all, this is Donald Trumps first policy decision. No one knows how he would govern. This is the first major decision to see what kind of president would he make. Pence brings stability to the party base. He has some governance experience in indian. He was a congressional leader. One of the elected leadership. I think he brings a lot in terms of bringing that together. He doesnt hurt trump. I think he helps him on the margins. We showed a minute earlier this picture of pence, paul ryan together a few years ago. Paul ryan had favorable things to say about pence. When you look at paul ryan and paul ryans style republicans who have been very uncomfortable with donald trump so far, would mike pence change the way they look at this ticket . I think that look, it gives him a conduit into it. A vice that they feel they dont have tlat point. A Comfort Level with mike pence. Who started out in the house pretty conservative. Stayed pretty conservative. As he grew into leadership i think he basically expanded his base of contacts within the house. High confident level in mike pence among house leaders. He is in a tough spot. A party leader. He has to support the nominee and you can see the discomfort on policy issues. He seems extremely uncomfortable. Cornered on things that donald trump has said. Youre in washington. Im just curious when you talk to republicans around there today, whats the reaction to the word it might be pence and to the identities of other finalists. I think with pence, numbers that know him and serve with him, it is a a very good feeling about that. I think with gingrich it is mixed. But those of us that served with newt know his pluses and minuses and what he brings to the ticket in a debate format and the like. Ive seen mike pence is a very favorable draw among House Republicans and people who follow capitol hill and understand the way government works. Today as we go through the veep stakes and sort sort of the final fever pitches there, trump trying to come up with a last ditch effort on the convention floor. Doesnt look like they got anywhere today. What kind of convention are you expecting next week . I know what kind of Convention Donald trump needs. He neds a good convention, people singing in unison. He needs to come out of this convention with a little bit after bump where this is a process where he looks like a leader that can govern. Not divisive leader. If he comes out of that given the last week that hillary had, he would come out with a nice bounce and lead which is what he needs coming out of the convention at this point. You will find a lot of republicans in washington have stayed away from donald trump because he doesnt look like a winner. And they are nervous about what this does to the political prospects. I think a lot of that momentum changes. Finally, have you seen one or two of these Vice President ial searches before. There have been surprises. Dan quayle a surprise. Sarah palin a surprise in 2008. When you look at how donald trump handled this thing, leaks that have come out, how do you think trump handled this search . It makes it look like a family powwow. I think what is the product at the end, who is the running mate. And we are talking about the process now because thats all we know. Very few in washington have a window into Donald Trumps mind. He operates kplicompletely difft than than the usual washington rules. We are looking at outcomes here. Pence is a good outcome i think given the options he has going into this. Former virginia congressman, tom davis joining us from washington. Appreciate the time. Bring in chris from the washington post. These are exciting days, chris. What is your read on this situation . It looks like it might be pence but maybe not so fast. Maybe sort of, maybe. I think that steve, you and i have done this all before. I think that vp picks and when they are announced are always fraught from a reporting perspective. There are so few people who really know. We have seen mistakes before. Near mistakes. I witnessed near mistakes in terms of reporting. I think it has made even more difficult by the fact that Donald Trumps inner circle is effectively his family plus paul manafort. And he says one thing he thinks we need more is unpredictability. Thats why i think you see so much hedging. I know the people. When the Indianapolis Star reports, its mike pence, that has real weight to me. They know a ton of people in indiana. They know all the pence people in indiana. So the pence people seem to believe it is them. That doesnt mean though its him for sure. So you know, my guess is pence because usually most of the time the reporting is right. But its trump, right . And i feel like anything with him, im not willing to say a hundred percent until i hear him say the words. I think thats one of the reasons people are hesitant right now to say yeah, this is it. Because trump has instincts of a showman and thats the potential knock on pence. Just the question of, is he flashy enough . Would trump think he is exciting enough to add it a ticket . And you know, to the point congressman davis made, i think it is really it is hard to get into the mind after politician generally. But like Hillary Clinton for example, we know she values governance. She is cautious by nature as a politician. She will make a traditional orthodox pick. Thats why you think of tim kaine. With trump, how would you crawl into that brain and figure out what he prizes . Maybe steve, i dont know, maybe he want an opposite of him. He wants a more serious guy. He wants someone who is not antiestablishment. He want someone who is solid. And that is at least as believable it me as if he wants someone who is more excitinging and more theatrical. We just dont know. I think he is kept everyone, republicans, media, democrats, on their toes and off balance for this whole campaign. So it is not stunning to me that in one of the big decision moments we find ourselves in that spot. In terms of politics, we just heard former congressman say he thinks pence probably does the most for donald trump politically. Do you agree with that . Yeah. I wrote a thing on that with all the caveats included on the fix saying if its pence, here is five reasons it makes sense. And pence is the most traditional orthodox pick. The pick that if donald trump was operating based on what sort of political gathered wisdom would suggest, he is the i go who makes the most sense. He is from the midwest. That helps. He is a governor. He served in congress. In leadership. You talked about the important point he is close with paul ryan. Mitch mcconnell said he is being picked today. Koch brothers world is close to him. You dont know that that frees up any money. Finance reporter for us reporting that it likely wont. But it certainly gives him a better chance at big money. There is a lot of ways that pence makes sense. More disciplined. Thats not high volume but more disciplined on message than trump is. Newt and christie feel like approximations of the appeal of trump very free in terms of message discipline speak their mind run against orthodox at a party. More after doubling down. Pence is more after complimentary piece than a lets double down piece. So he does make traditional sense which i may have just argued against for why trump will pick him. These are variables that only apply it a donald trump Vice President ial search. Right. And i think it is important, this is unique, right . You cannot govern it based on the ways in which we think the things work in the past. If it is pence then what we knew about how vps get picked, that makes sense in this regard. There is trump. And we are waiting right now. A lot of signals. We will see what the next twist is. After the break, that last effort by some republicans to stop trump in cleveland. Msnbcs delegate hunter jacob is staking out the rules meeting in cleveland. Youre telling me that approximately 2,000, 2500, almost 3,000 delegates can do what they want, pick the Republican Party . Well oddly enough, those are the rules of the Republican Party that have been in place since 1856. Trump forces making any headway . They didnt. But they still have the potential to disrupt Donald Trumps coronation next week. We will talk about that as speculation grows for trumps number two Hillary Clinton. She is Holding Auditions of her own. Just moments ago in the swing state of virginia with one of her potential vp picks. We were ready for hillary because hillary is ready for us. Hillary is ready for virginia. Hillary is ready to be president. Hillary is ready to be our leader. Hillary is ready to make history. The ear