Trump says he's decided on his running mate - and his VP pick will be at the CNN debate

Donald Trump says his 2024 running mate will be at the CNN debate in Atlanta on Thursday.

The former president revealed he has picked who will run as vice president on the Republican ticket in November, but that the individual he decided on doesn't even know yet.

Reporters asked Trump ahead of his rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday whether he had settled on a running mate with just over four months until the election. 

'In my mind, yeah,' Trump replied.

When asked if he had yet informed the individual they are his choice for VP, Trump said: 'No, nobody knows.' 

Trump is heading to Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday for his first debate with President Joe Biden in the 2024 general election race.

The debate is one of the earliest in the election cycle in modern history and comes just a month after the former president was found guilty in Manhattan of 34 felony charges related to the hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

Trump told NBC News that his pick will 'most likely' be at the debate on Thursday.  

The selection of Trump's VP has ramped up in weeks ahead of the debate and the Republican National Convention taking place July 15-18.

Over the last several months, Trump was most seriously considering a list of eight Republicans to join him on the ticket in November, his campaign confirmed to multiple outlets.

The short list included; North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R), Sen. J.S. Vance (R-Ohio), Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Rep. Elise Stfanik (R-N.Y.), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and Trump's former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

While Trump has praised all these individuals and others, claiming they would make good selections, he has also downplayed the impact his running mate will play on his election.

'It's never really had that much of an effect on an election,' Trump told Fox earlier this year.

Several candidates received vetting materials from Trump's campaign in recent weeks.

Trump has said he might reveal publicly his choice for No. 2 at the GOP Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Immediately after the debate, Trump will head straight to Virginia for a rally Friday outside of Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

Meanwhile, Biden will go directly to North Carolina for a rally and Vice President Kamala Harris will head to Nevada for an event on mobilizing Latino voters. Both North Carolina and Nevada are battleground states essentially for Biden if he wants to win reelection.