NEW YORK — (CNN) Donald Trump’s list of possible vice presidential candidates has “no more than four” names on it right now, former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said Thursday.
“These are the absolute, very best — they’re people that everyone will know. They’re household names. They’re people that he has said will help him achieve his legislative agenda,” Lewandowski told CNN’s Erin Burnett on “OutFront.”
Lewandowski’s comments came in his first appearance on CNN after joining the network as a political commentator, three days after Trump fired him as his campaign manager.
He wouldn’t reveal the members of that short list.
“People are going to be very, very happy when he finally makes the determination of which one of those he is going to select,” Lewandowski said.
He also insisted that Trump’s overtures to prospective candidates who his campaign has wanted to vet have been well-received.
“The individuals who he is talking to about being part of that process have all agreed that they want to be part of that process. There’s been some speculation out there that people don’t want to be part of this — it’s absolutely the opposite,” Lewandowski said.
“Every person that he has talked to, every person that he has had an interest in talking to has reaffirmed with 100% certainty that they would be absolutely welcome on the ticket, they want to do this,” he said.
Trump has long said he’d like a political insider who could help him move legislation on Capitol Hill as his vice president to balance his outsider status. Trump aides have said they’ve asked prospective candidates to turn over their tax returns as part of the vetting process.
A CNN/ORC poll released Wednesday found that just a handful of Republican voters want their presumptive nominee to choose someone just like him. Only 8% say they’d like to see Trump select someone with a background in the business world, while the rest are divided between a running mate with experience in the military (47% would prefer that) or in politics (43% prefer a politician).
The list is shortening for both sides. Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign is considering a handful of prospective running mates, with Clinton privately signaling she is less concerned about choosing someone who fills a specific liberal or progressive void in favor of a partner who is fully prepared for the job and has a strong camaraderie with her.
Clinton has not yet conducted formal interviews, but has devoted hours studying the records and backgrounds of several Democrats on a list that includes Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro of Texas.
But those three should not be seen as absolute finalists, several Democrats said, only as active contenders. The roster also may include Labor Secretary Tom Perez, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Rep. Xavier Becerra of California.
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