Donald Trump on Sunday alluded to his vice presidential deliberations with Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, revealing that she told the GOP nominee that she had wanted “more seasoning” before jumping into the presidential race.
{mosads}Trump introduced Ernst along with the rest of Iowa’s top Republican public servants at an afternoon rally in Sioux City, one of five events he had scheduled for the final Sunday of the campaign.
In introducing Ernst, Trump used a tid-bit from when he was considering her as a potential running mate.
This is “a woman who I got to know because, as you know, she was on a very short list. And she loves the people of Iowa, and she felt she needed a little — it wasn’t me — she felt she needed a little more seasoning, really,” Trump said of the first term senator.
“She is now seasoned, because there is nobody who does a better job representing their people,” he added.
Ernst was part of the small group that Trump entertained as part of his vice presidential search. He met with the Iowa senator over the July Fourth weekend at his golf course in New Jersey, according to the New York Times.
Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich all met with Trump as he weighed his choice, before deciding on Pence.
Ernst, a veteran, is considered a rising star in the GOP ranks. She defeated Iowa Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley for the open Senate seat in 2014 in one of the tightest races of that year.
Correct the Record, a Democratic group focused on attacking the GOP nominee, released a video clip of the moment shortly after Trump’s rally wrapped up, saying Trump “admitted” that Ernst “turned down the spot.”