Donald Trump says New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) are “high on the list for something” in a potential Trump administration.
“I think they’re both great, and they’ve been very supportive,” Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday, after Hewitt suggested Christie or Cotton for vice president.
{mosads}Hewitt argued Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, could benefit from the experience of either one. Cotton is a former Army Ranger, and Christie is a former federal prosecutor.
“I can’t give you any clues or anything right now, because I do have a lot of respect for those two guys. But I have a lot of respect for others, also,” Trump said.
Trump noted that Christie was an early backer of his campaign, while Cotton, who was a vocal critic of the Obama administration on the Iran deal, “is a very talented guy” and “a very popular person.”
“So these are two names that I have high on the list for something at least, that I can tell you,” he said.
Trump is working to shore up support among Republicans after weeks of negative attention, a campaign staff shakeup and dismal fundraising numbers for last month. A vocal faction of the party also refuses to support him.
On Wednesday, he delivered a carefully scripted speech attacking Hillary Clinton, his likely Democratic opponent in the general election. He continued attacking her Thursday on Hewitt’s show, accusing her of “criminal acts.”
“What she’s done, these are criminal acts, okay? I mean, you may not like the criminal act, you may, these are criminal acts at the highest level,” Trump said in a discussion of her use of private email server while secretary of State.
Trump also pointed to the general election debates, saying that “if it’s Hillary and if it’s Trump, they’re saying the debate’s going to be the biggest show ever on television in terms of ratings.”
Trump has said he’ll announce his VP pick at the party’s convention next month and said Thursday he’s open to rolling out cabinet-level picks before the election in November.
“I would be inclined to do a lot of it early,” Trump said.
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