Joshua Roberts/Reuters
Sens. Bob Corker and Joni Ernst withdrew their names from consideration to be Donald Trump’s running mate, they said in separate interviews Wednesday. In a sit-down with The Washington Post, Corker said he revealed the decision to Trump on Tuesday—the same day he met with Trump aides in New York and flew with him to a rally in North Carolina. “There are people far more suited for being a candidate for vice president and I think I’m far more suited for other types of things,” he said. Corker called the running-mate position “a highly political job” that he would not be comfortable with, despite having submitted documents to the campaign’s vetting team.
Ernst, a freshman senator from Iowa, told Politico that while she wants to help Trump defeat Hillary Clinton, she wants to stay focused on her current job. “I made that very clear to him that I’m focused on Iowa,” she said. “I feel that I have a lot more to do in the United States Senate. And Iowa is where my heart is.” Ernst was reportedly awarded a prime-time speaking slot at the Republican National Convention this month in Cleveland.