Donald Trump—convicted felon, aspiring authoritarian, and the man the GOP is proud to once again run as their presidential contender—has spent months auditioning potential running mates, casting a wide net of strivers, cynics, and flunkies to decide who gets second billing in the Trump Show. Now, that process appears to have entered its final stages. ABC News reports that the former president’s team has made vetting requests to at least seven Republicans—a short list that may not represent all under review but seems to reflect his top choices. His considerations? “Trump likes people who are rich and have hot wives,” a source familiar with the vetting process told Politico.

The source was apparently referring there to Doug Burgum, the deep-pocketed governor of North Dakota who briefly mounted a primary campaign for president last year and, at the time, explicitly ruled out serving as Trump’s veep—“I would not,” he said—before dropping out of the race, endorsing Trump, and endearing himself to the former president as a key player in his fundraising operation. Loyalty—as always—is Trump’s chief concern. It’s important to him that his ticketmate follows his lead—and be willing to subvert democracy on his behalf.

Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, another leading contender, has emerged as one of Trump’s top sycophants—serving as a conduit between Trump and Silicon Valley and as one of his most aggressive attack dogs, particularly following the former president’s historic conviction, with Vance making the media rounds suggesting the hush-money verdict, rendered by a jury of 12 New Yorkers, was evidence that America is descending into “fascism” under Joe Biden. “Whatever happened to the Republican Party being the party of ‘law and order?’” CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked Vance after the former president was found guilty on 34 felony counts last week. “Every single thing about this points to the fact that this was a political sham prosecution,” Vance shot back.

It is striking that the guy who once suggested Trump could be “America’s Hitler” is now defending Trump as he insists his conviction means America has become a “fascist state.” But if there’s anything Trump appreciates more than loyalty, it’s the kind of loyalty he extracts from vanquished former critics like Tim Scott and Marco Rubio—both of whom are reportedly on the shortlist. Scott ran a primary campaign against Trump this cycle, pledging to bridge America’s divisions before becoming the friendly face of Trump’s cruel political movement. Rubio had clashed even harder with Trump during the 2016 campaign, describing him as a “con artist” and making a pointed dig at Trump’s “small hands” during a memorably crude debate stage exchange. Now? He’d be “honored” to serve with Trump.

Scott and Rubio could, the theory goes, help Trump siphon enough voters from Biden to give him the edge in November. Polls suggest Biden could suffer weakened support from Black and Hispanic voting blocs—a significant vulnerability for a president who was lifted to victory in 2020 by voters of color. But Trump, who has thrown in his lot with white supremacists and claimed non-white immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of the country, has been profoundly grotesque in his outreach. Another potential Trump running mate, Byron Donalds, said that Black Americans were better off under Jim Crow than they are under Biden. “During Jim Crow, the Black family was together,” Donalds said at a Black outreach event featuring Trump surrogates in Philadelphia Wednesday. Donalds defended his remarks on CNN later that night, telling Abby Phillip that his comments had been misconstrued. “It sounds like nostalgia,” Phillip said. “I didn’t say that,”Donalds replied. “I didn’t even insinuate that.” While he is “obviously one of the better communicators in the Republican Party,” Donalds said, Democrats are “trying to twist my words.” Did he have anything to say on those running mate rumors? “I’m gonna leave that very private,” Donalds told Phillip. “They’re gonna go through their deliberations. President Trump’s gonna make a decision.”

Those deliberations appear to be ongoing and also reportedly include former Trump administration official Ben Carson, extremist Senator Tom Cotton, and Representative Elise Stefanik, who has carved out a niche for herself recently in the campus culture wars. Seemingly left out of the vetting so far? MAGA firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene, who once seemed like an obvious contender for the supporting role but has since fallen out of favor somewhat, thanks to her thirst for the spotlight. There’s a lesson in there for those still in the mix: the MAGAverse still has but one star—and it’s not you.