1996 GOP PrimariesGovernor Bill Weld of MassachusettsSenator Bob Dole of KansasMr. Pat Buchanan"After facing a rough start, Governor Bill Weld of Massachusetts has clinched the Republican nomination. He's now begun the process of vetting a vice presidential candidate, and he'll need a good one to win in November. Hang on, we've got breaking news coming in now. Let me read it here. Oh wow. It looks like the election just got more interesting. We've got Donald Trump on the line. Mr. Trump, you have something to say?"
"Hi, Larry. Great show tonight, great show. Look, politicians don't know how to do things. They're just not smart people. We saw that four years ago, with Perot, who's a great person but he lost. He lost. He choked and he lost. That's why I'm here. I sat down last night and I saw that Weld, who was begging me for money a few months ago, it was sad, really, I saw that Weld was going to win. And with Clinton, who's not a very nice person at all, he's done pretty bad. With Clinton and with Weld I said we can't let this happen. We can't. Neither of them are smart people, they don't know business, they don't know budgets. So I said hey, why don't I run? It'll be fun and I'll win. We'll win. I'll win, for sure. We're going to get a great team together and we're going to win."
VP Shortlist for Bill WeldCongressman Jack Kemp of New York
Governor George W. Bush of Texas
Former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney of Wyoming
Governor Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey
Governor Gary Johnson of New Mexico
VP Shortlist for Donald TrumpBusinessman Steven Forbes of New York
Businessman Bill Gates of Washington
Businessman Bud Adams of Texas
Businessman Ross Perot of Texas
Retired Colonel Oliver North of Virgina
General Election PollsPresident Bill Clinton - 51%Governor Bill Weld - 49%Governor Bill Weld - 45%President Bill Clinton - 43%%Businessman Donald Trump - 12%