Donald Trump on Monday ripped into the media for reporting that his process of picking his running mate was chaotic and fraught with second-guessing.
“You talk about crooked,” the presumptive GOP nominee said Monday on Fox News. “The media is so distorted and so false.”
Several reports said Trump had second thoughts about picking Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, and was up late Thursday wondering if he made the right choice. But Trump dismissed those reports.
“[Pence] was absolutely my first choice, and I delayed one day because of the horrible tragedy that just took place [in Nice, France] … I delayed it a day for that,” he said Monday. “All of a sudden, they said because I delayed it for the tragedy, they said maybe he’s having second thoughts.”
“A total lie. It was such a lie. And when you told them it was a lie, it didn’t matter because they kept it going. Because we told them, ‘Total lie.’ But they kept it going. I tell you what, the media is so dishonest, it’s just incredible. Just incredible,” he added.
Trump was originally set to announce his pick on Friday, but he postponed the event after a terrorist attack killed 84 people in Nice, France. The postponement came after media had already leaked that the Indiana governor was likely to be Trump’s No. 2.
Instead of a big, flashy reveal in front of media and supporters, Trump tweeted a simple note Friday afternoon: “I am pleased to announce that I have chosen Governor Mike Pence as my vice presidential running mate. News conference tomorrow at 11:00 a.m.”
Several newsrooms reported he had a difficult time making his choice, which was between Pence, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. And some reports claimed the VP process for Trump was a tortured affair that included him trying at the last minute to back out of picking the Indiana governor.
“Scoop: @realDonaldTrump was so unsure about @mike_pence that around midnight last night he asked top aides if he could get out of it,” CNN’s Dana Bash reported Friday.
NBC News’ Kelly O’Donnell confirmed in a separate report, “Sources tell me @realDonaldTrump was on phone till midnight making calls, asking if he could change course on VP pick
The New York Times reported elsewhere that Trump was up late last Thursday asking his advisers, “for reassurance that Mr. Pence was really right for the job.”
“In conversations late into the evening, Mr. Trump repeatedly hesitated over selecting Mr. Pence, according to people briefed on the tense deliberations, who insisted on anonymity to describe the confidential talks. Even as his emissaries reassured Mr. Pence, Mr. Trump fielded a last-ditch appeal from Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, another finalist, who once again pressed his own case,” the paper claimed. “Advisers and family members stressed over and over to Mr. Trump that he was selecting a running mate to unite the Republican Party, not a new best friend.”
