Donald Trump has narrowed his potential running mates to a “very small” list, his top aide said Sunday.
In an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski — who is leading the vice-presidential search process — said the vetting team has “started to shrink down that pool.”
“I can say that the list is very small and we have a very good understanding of who those handful of individuals will be and ultimately the decision will be made by Mr. Trump,” Lewandowski said.
He said the final decision will be up to Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, but aides are now identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each option.
“What we are doing right now is making sure that we’ve done our due diligence so that when he chooses the person he wants, we can give him the pros and cons of each of those individuals…. so we feel very good where we are in the process,” Lewandowski said.
In an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort said Trump “wants a vice president who knows Washington, is able to deal with the Congress and could be viewed as somebody who could be president.”
He deflected a question about whether potential selections will be asked to turn over their tax returns — a hot-button issue given Trump’s refusal to make his tax returns available to the public.
“The list of candidates that he will be considering will be fully vetted. The exact process we’re not talking about,” Manafort said.
Both Manafort and Lewandowski insisted the two work well together, despite reports of clashes between the two most powerful figures in Trump’s camp.
“Paul and I have a fantastic relationship. We work together closely every day,” Lewandowski said.
He said it is “very, very important to know that there is no sunlight between Paul and I.”
Manafort said he and Lewandowski are “cohesive and working together,” even after Rick Wiley — an aide brought in by Manafort — departed the campaign.
Manafort also downplayed a New York Times report that some Trump campaign staff believed their Trump Tower headquarters was bugged.
“No, I don’t believe it,” Manafort said. “But I don’t know who said that.”
