Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., announced Wednesday he was no longer in the running to be presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump’s vice president.
Corker, who is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, would have boosted the billionaire businessman’s foreign policy bona fides. But the senator said he doesn’t thing the role of vice president suits his skill set.
“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,” Corker told the Washington Post.
The senator said he told Trump on Tuesday he no longer wanted to be on the presumptive nominee’s running mate shortlist after he met with campaign staff in New York. Corker, 63, also appeared with Trump at a rally in North Carolina that evening, where he said it was “incredible” to see how people reacted to him.
Corker said that while he will continue to support Trump’s candidacy and would serve as an informal adviser, he was not interested in the political nature of the position because “it’s just not the right thing for me.” The senator said he instead prefers to focus on policy.
“It’s a highly political job, and that’s not who I am,” Corker said. “We had a very open conversation about that, and actually, we have been very candid about it from the very beginning of our meetings.”
Trump is expected to make his vice presidential selection before the Republican National Convention kicks off July 18 in Cleveland. Still under consideration are former House speaker Newt Gingrich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.