Though touted for VP spot, Cotton says nothing going on

Sen. Tom Cotton (right), is shown  in this file photo addressing a meeting of the University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees in Little Rock.
Sen. Tom Cotton (right), is shown in this file photo addressing a meeting of the University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees in Little Rock.

WASHINGTON -- Dismissing speculation that he's on Donald Trump's short list for vice president, U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton said repeatedly Tuesday that he doesn't believe he'll be the New York billionaire's running mate.


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In interviews with two radio stations and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Cotton said he wasn't being vetted for the position and wasn't talking to any Trump staff member about a role in the campaign.

While Republican senators interviewed Tuesday by the Democrat-Gazette said Cotton would be a solid vice presidential nominee, Cotton told the newspaper that Trump isn't speaking to him about a role in the 2016 presidential campaign. Cotton said he's not even sure that he'll be speaking at the Republican National Convention, which opens July 18 in Cleveland.

"We haven't discussed that. They haven't approached me about that either," he said. Cotton also did interviews with radio stations KARN-FM in Little Rock and KASU-FM in Jonesboro.

A former Trump adviser, Michael Caputo, told Fox News Radio last week that Cotton had been one of the people "talked about" as a potential running mate. But it was unclear how seriously Cotton had been considered.

Corey Lewandowski, who was fired June 20 as Trump's campaign manager, told CNN last Thursday that Trump's list of potential running mates had been narrowed to "no more than four individuals."

Those in the running have already been contacted, he said, adding that they're "people everyone will know. They're household names."

While Trump is revealing little about his selection process, he is hearing from at least some Republicans who are bullish on Cotton.

Conservative talk-show host Hugh Hewitt told Trump last week that he should choose either Cotton or New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as his running mate.

Trump declined to say whether either man would be on his short list, adding, "I do have a lot of respect for those two guys. But I have a lot of respect for others also."

If Trump asks for advice from Cotton's colleagues in the Senate, he's likely to hear positive things about the junior senator from Arkansas.

"He'd be absolutely great. He's one of the better young people here. He's intelligent, attractive, smart as a whip and he's been doing a great job here," U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Tuesday.

Others also give him high marks.

"Tom would be a great vice presidential pick. He really would," U.S. Rep. Jim Risch, R-Idaho said Tuesday. "First of all, this guy is really, really bright. Well above average around here. ... With his military background, also his background in intelligence, he'd bring a lot to the table. He really would."

U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., called Cotton "one of my favorites."

"He's great. He's so smart, so hardworking and he's been consistently correct on issue after issue," he said.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said Cotton would be a solid pick.

"I don't know if he's interested, but if he is, I think he would do well," said Rubio, who was a presidential candidate earlier this year.

Cotton's knowledge of national security issues would be especially valuable, he said.

"The most important job of a president is to be commander in chief, so having someone like Tom, either on the ticket with him or working alongside him in another capacity, would be helpful," he added.

U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said Cotton has closely followed national security issues and "would bring a tremendous amount of expertise in that realm." It's an area, Boozman said, where Trump "admits that he would need some help."

Although he declined last week to say whether Cotton and Christie were vice presidential contenders, Trump told Hewitt that "these are two names that I have high on the list for something at least, that I can tell you."

Trump also noted that he'd met Cotton's parents. Len and Avis Cotton met the presidential contender in July during a Republican Party of Arkansas event in Hot Springs.

Asked whether he knows what Trump might have in mind for him, Cotton said Tuesday, "I do not. I'm glad he likes my parents, though."

The senator said he didn't want to imagine his role in a potential Trump administration. "I don't want to speculate about those kind of future hypotheticals. I'm very happy to be serving in the Senate, serving the people of Arkansas and very happy to have the time to be a good dad, but I obviously want to make sure that our country, whoever is governing it, is as successful, prosperous and safe as we can be."

Cotton said the Trump campaign hasn't asked him to play any kind of surrogate role during the fall campaign "and I don't know if they will. My limited political work this fall is going to be dedicated to [helping] John Boozman and some of my other peers in the Senate as well as some [other] Republicans running for office in Arkansas."

A Section on 06/29/2016

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