Donald Trump has begun lining up candidates for the ultimate job interview — his vice presidential running mate.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee is considering a list that includes a retired general and some of Washington’s most powerful lawmakers.
One of the most talked-about candidates on the billionaire’s short list is Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, who met with The Donald on Monday at Trump Tower in Manhattan.
Corker emerged from the 80-minute meeting claiming there was no reason to believe he’s on Trump’s short list — exactly what a VP candidate is supposed to say.
“We had actually never met before. . . We had a conversation,” Corker told reporters. “It was a good meeting about foreign policy, domestic issues.”
Corker, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he and Trump discussed US relations with China and Russia. Corker would bolster Trump’s perceived weakness on foreign affairs.
Sources said Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions — one of Trump’s earliest supporters — also is under consideration. Sessions’ views on immigration match Trump’s.
A surprise name on the list is retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, a national security adviser to Trump who has emerged as one of the most buzzed-about veep contenders, sources familiar with the deliberations said.
Flynn retired in 2014 after a 33-year career in military intelligence that included hunting down terrorists as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Flynn would be an outside-the-box choice because Trump has strongly suggested he would likely select someone connected to Congress or with elective experience to be his veep.
“I think I’ll probably go the political route,” Trump said this month on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “Somebody that can help me with legislation and somebody that can help me get things passed and somebody that’s been friends with the senators and the congressmen and all.”
But, like Trump, the military man is not afraid to stir up controversy.
In February, Flynn said Hillary Clinton should drop out of the presidential race while the FBI investigated her use of a private email server.
“If it were me, I would have been out the door and probably in jail,” Flynn told CNN.
The Clinton campaign brushed off Flynn’s comments as “silly.”
Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski on Monday declined to discuss specific names being considered for vice president.
“We’re not going to go down that route. Mr. Trump is going to be the person making the final decision,” he said.
Lewandowski emphasized that Trump prefers “someone with elective experience,” which would make Flynn a dark horse.
He said Trump’s meeting with Corker focused mostly on “foreign-policy discussions,” not the vice presidency.
During a recent interview with Fox News host Greta Van Susteren, Trump suggested as many as seven candidates were on his veep list.
He said former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin could be contenders.
Meanwhile, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is pushing for consideration in the veepstakes, sources said.