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Trump: I never considered Nikki Haley for VP

by Jesse Byrnes - 05/05/16 2:37 PM ET

WATCH: #DonaldTrump says there's one person who's not on his VP list. Hear more from Trump on @SpecialReport, 6p EThttps://t.co/lMawgOcdCR

— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 5, 2016

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump says he never considered South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to be his running mate.

“No, not Nikki Haley. She wasn’t under consideration,” Trump told Fox News’s Bret Baier on Thursday after the host mentioned reports of Haley and others being on the businessman’s VP list.

{mosads}Haley, who memorably delivered a stinging rebuke of Trump following the State of the Union in January, said Wednesday she wasn’t interested in being his running mate.

A senior Trump campaign source had told CNN on Wednesday that Haley, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) were the campaign’s early favorites for VP.

Martinez and Portman on Thursday also withdrew themselves from VP consideration amid rolling speculation.

Haley had stumped on behalf of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and then endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). She said Wednesday she’d “support” the GOP nominee.

Trump has said he wants someone with political experience to serve as his running mate, signaling there was a chance it could be a former rival.

Trump confirmed to Fox News that he’s spoken with Rubio since the senator dropped out in March. The New York Times reported they’ve spoken by phone multiple times.

“We’ve had really nice conversations, not necessarily about” the VP slot, Trump said. “Not necessarily with respect to any position, but it could happen.”

Tags 2016 GOP primary 2016 presidential election Donald Trump Marco Rubio Rob Portman Ted Cruz