Trump praises Ernst, Pence amid VP speculation
Donald Trump is spending the Fourth looking for his second.
The search for a running mate is normally mired in secrecy, but Trump is once again breaking that tradition by essentially tweeting his job interview schedule. On Monday, Trump announced that he’d be meeting with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a popular freshman from a swing state, in New Jersey later on the Fourth of July.
He also confirmed, on Twitter, that he’d met with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and his family over the weekend. “Very impressed, great people!” Trump tweeted.
Trump also hit back against the idea that he’s having trouble finding people who actually want the job.
“The only people who are not interested in being the V.P. pick are the people who have not been asked!” Trump tweeted Monday.
Ernst later put out a statement on her meeting with the presumptive Republican nominee.
“I had a good conversation with Donald Trump today and we discussed what I am hearing from Iowans as I travel around the state on my 99 county tour, and the best path forward for our country,” she said.
“I will continue to share my insights with Donald about the need to strengthen our economy, keep our nation safe, and ensure America is always a strong, stabilizing force around the globe.”
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are also thought to be near the top of Trump’s shortlist, as well as Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, former Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.). With the Republican National Convention kicking off in just two weeks, Trump’s veepstakes is playing out amid ongoing skepticism from Republican lawmakers, including some who are reportedly under consideration to join the ticket.
Corker, for example, who’s worked to cultivate a reputation as a serious foreign policy thinker as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, has criticized Trump’s response to the Orlando, Florida, attacks.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), whose confrontational style and tea party credentials — and vocal openness to being Trump’s running mate — made him seem like a logical choice, struggledto articulate why he supports Trump. Asked multiple times during a “Meet the Press” interview to make an affirmative case for Trump, Cotton instead focused on criticizing Hillary Clinton.
“Donald Trump can ultimately make the case for himself,” Cotton said at one point.
Cotton’s interview came just one day after he told reporters that he was not being vetted for Trump’s VP.
But on this Independence Day, Trump is evidently feeling magnanimous toward Arkansas’ junior senator.
“Senator Tom Cotton was great on Meet the Press yesterday,” Trump tweeted. “Despite a totally one-sided interview by Chuck Todd, the end result was solid!”
Trump appears to have spent Monday morning at Trump Tower in Manhattan, where he filmed a July Fourth message, promising “another Independence Day come Nov. 8.”
The Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, appears to be emerging as a preferred venue for his running mate interviews. That’s where he met with Pence on Saturday, according to news reports.
Zach Montellaro contributed to this report.