Donald Trump greets Indiana Gov. Mike Pence at the Grand Park Events Center on July 12, 2016, in Westfield, Indiana. Signs point to Pence as Trump VP But the presumptive GOP nominee postpones the scheduled Friday roll-out event following the deadly attack in Nice, France.

Donald Trump appeared to be on the verge of offering the job of his running mate to Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on Thursday, but the unpredictable billionaire kept the guessing game alive, with his campaign insisting no final decision had been made.

Multiple sources had told POLITICO that Trump could inform his vice presidential contenders of his final decision as soon as Thursday, and signs suggested that Pence is the guy. Pence was spotted walking into a Manhattan hotel Thursday evening. Spokespeople for Pence and Trump didn’t respond to requests for comment.


Trump has planned to announce his running might at an event Friday morning in Manhattan, but he said Thursday night that he would postpone the event due to the deadly attack in Nice, France.

Pence was also facing an official deadline of noon Friday to pull out from the gubernatorial race. By late afternoon Thursday, his gubernatorial campaign had still not submitted the official withdrawal form to the Secretary of State’s office or the Indiana Election Division, according to officials at both offices. Both offices closed at 5 p.m. Thursday and will re-open at 8 a.m. Friday, giving the Pence campaign four hours to deliver the official document.

As speculation reached a fever pitch on Thursday, CBS News reported that Trump will pick Pence; The Wall Street Journal, citing "a source," tweeted that Trump had told senior Republicans that he's picking Pence; and The New York Times reported that Trump's campaign has "signaled strongly" that Pence will join the ticket. Later in the afternoon, ABC News reported that Trump had asked Pence to be his running mate and the Indiana governor accepted.

Throughout the day, Trump's campaign had denied that any final selection was made.

“A decision has not been made by Mr. Trump. He will be making a decision in the future,” Trump communications adviser Jason Miller tweeted early Thursday afternoon, “… and will be announcing his Vice Presidential pick tomorrow at 11am as planned.”

Much of the confusion could be springing from the turmoil within Trump’s operation about whom he should choose.

POLITICO reported Wednesday that Trump's advisers were split over the best selection, with Trump's children and son-in-law Jared Kushner rushing to Indiana on Wednesday to counsel the presumptive GOP nominee.

Trump’s top adviser Paul Manafort has been pushing for Pence, while Kushner has been advocating former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, according to multiple sources involved in campaign deliberations.

Kushner, who has emerged as a de facto campaign manager in recent weeks, is said to strongly oppose putting New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on the ticket. Notably, Christie was the federal prosecutor who put Kushner's father in prison a decade ago.

Manafort on Tuesday had made it clear Trump will have the final say. "Well, there's a 100 percent chance that Donald Trump will select who he wants," Manafort said on Fox.

And Donald Trump Jr. disputed the idea that there's internal strife. "There's literally none of the drama I'm reading about. 3 great choices. Decision is my fathers alone to make!" he tweeted.

Thursday unfolded in extraordinary fashion, with Christie and Gingrich both providing fresh commentary on the search, even as reports flew around about Pence being the pick.

Christie, one of the first prominent GOP politicians to endorse Trump and a close adviser to his campaign, is also among the candidates who was vetted and said he expected to hear from Trump on Thursday afternoon.

"I'm a competitive person. I'm not going to say it won't bother me if I'm not selected. Of course it bothers you a little bit. Because if you're a competitive person like I am, and you're used to winning like I am, again, you don't like coming in second. Ever," Christie said on MSNBC. "Listen, no matter what phone call he makes to me today, I will take a deep breath and prepare for tomorrow."

Gingrich, meanwhile, made a last-minute pitch for the job through a Facebook video chat, in which he said that having a candidate from a particular region of a country can "sometimes ... be very helpful."

"I think sometimes it can actually carry a state. It’s not always true, and certainly under some circumstances you would like to have someone who could carry a swing state," Gingrich said.

He added, "I think my appeal is probably more national. I have some appeal in virtually every state."

"I think that Mike Pence would have a huge Midwestern appeal," Gingrich said. "So if you’re trying to compete for western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois, there’s a certain value to an Indiana candidate, I think.”

A source who serves as an adviser to a VP contender told POLITICO on Thursday that he was not aware of the final pick, but that he expected it to become known later in the day.

Sources at "60 Minutes" confirmed that there is a planned sit-down interview with Trump and his vice presidential pick, though those sources declined to specify who that choice is. The interview is expected to be conducted by correspondent Leslie Stahl on Friday for airing on Sunday evening.

Traditionally, “60 Minutes” does not announce interviews until they occur, and there is a natural fear that Trump may change his mind. The venerable weekly news program also held the first sit-down with Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in 2012.

The Drudge Report reported that Fox News’ Sean Hannity will have his own interview with Pence on Friday night.

Representatives for Fox News and the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Indications earlier this week suggested Trump would select Pence. Asked for his prediction, Gingrich told CNN he "would not be at all surprised if it was Pence." Pence was also the lone possible VP selection who was not listed as a speaker at the Republican National Convention next week in Cleveland.

Eric Trump on Thursday morning appeared on Fox Business Network and talked about the gravity of the decision before his father.

"My father’s taking it extremely seriously. I mean this is may be the biggest pick that he has to make in this whole cycle, and this might be one of the most important decisions he’ll ever make in his life," Eric Trump said.

Gingrich brings intellectual firepower and experience at the highest levels of power in Washington. Pence brings a high standing among social conservatives and a résumé that includes time in Congress and a Rust Belt governorship. With Christie comes a love for political combat and experience leading a blue state.

But each of the three Republicans would also bring to the ticket his own weaknesses and baggage. Whoever gets the nod must be able to galvanize voters, defend a nominee known for controversial statements and go head-to-head with a Democratic rival who will likely be seasoned. And Trump’s choice could indicate a lot about how he might govern if elected.

Pence spent a decade in Congress and has governed as a social conservative in Indiana. He could strengthen Trump’s standing among evangelicals in a way that Gingrich, who is Catholic and has been married three times, might not be able to. However, Pence's standing among evangelical leaders slid last year after he reversed course on a measure that more liberal critics said would allow Indiana businesses to deny service to gay people.

“Obviously, being a governor gives you a range of experience that is important when you’re staffing an executive position. And Mike Pence was a very popular member of Congress,” said Bob Walker, a former Pennsylvania congressman who served two decades in the House and in leadership with Gingrich. “[Pence] is somebody who I admire for his conservative values. … All of that would make him a very superb candidate.”

While Pence is a vigorous fundraiser who is popular with many of the right’s deepest-pocketed donors — including some in the Koch brothers’ orbit — it’s not clear whether his addition to the ticket would thaw the frigid relations between Trump and the GOP’s elite donor class.

The network of advocacy groups helmed by the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch has all but foresworn big-money spending in the presidential race out of distaste for Trump, instead focusing its spending down ballot.

And an official at the network’s central group, Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, on Thursday said Pence’s ascension to the ticket wouldn’t change the network’s approach. “Our efforts will remain focused on the Senate,” said James Davis, Freedom Partners’ executive vice president for communications and marketing.

On Capitol Hill, news of Trump’s possible pick was received warmly by lawmakers, some of whom have been hesitant to back the billionaire.

Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who clashed openly with Trump last week in Washington, said picking Pence as a running mate would be the “best choice Donald Trump’s made so far.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has endorsed Trump, told the Dallas Morning News that Pence is a “great choice” and that he looks forward to “enthusiastically supporting the ticket.”

Trump has said he wants someone who knows how to navigate Congress and could help advance a legislative agenda. Anticipating a bruising few months ahead, he also said recently that he wants someone skilled in “hand-to-hand combat.” Pence meets the first criterion, and Christie the second. Gingrich meets both.

“In 2012, when Newt ran for president, he ran as an anti-establishment candidate, too, so he knows that side of bringing the campaign to the voters from an anti-establishment position,” said Walker. “He’s also somebody that’s widely respected inside of the defense and intelligence communities, and that’s something that I think would provide the Trump campaign with some confidence in those particular communities.”

“It depends if Trump’s a really revolutionary figure or not,” said Rick Tyler, a former spokesperson for Sen. Ted Cruz and Gingrich. “The country needs revolutionary change, and the only person who understands how to do that is Gingrich.”

Hadas Gold, Ken Vogel, Louis Nelson and Nolan McCaskill contributed reporting.