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| Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump takes a telephone call from his daughter Ivanka during an interview with The Associated Press in his office at Trump Tower in New York, Tuesday, May 10, 2016. |
NEW YORK
(AP) -- Shifting swiftly to the general election, Donald Trump says
he's narrowed his list of potential running mates to "five or six"
people and doesn't want to accept taxpayer money to finance a fall
campaign against likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
In
a break from recent major party nominees, Trump does not plan to invest
heavily in a data-driven effort to court voters in the fall campaign.
Despite
pressure, the billionaire said he doesn't believe he has an obligation
to release his tax returns and won't release them before November unless
an ongoing audit of his finances is completed before Election Day. He
said he wouldn't overrule his lawyers and instruct them to release his
returns if the audit hasn't concluded by then.
"There's nothing to learn from them," Trump said. He also said he doesn't believe voters are interested.
"Now,
I hope it gets finished soon. And if it gets finished soon, I put it
out immediately because there's nothing there. But until you get
finished, you won't," he said.
Trump weighed
in on the issue again Wednesday, saying on Twitter: "In interview I told
@AP that my taxes are under routine audit and I would release my tax
returns when audit is complete, not after election!"
Trump's
comments came as he begins to prepare for a long, expensive general
election campaign. His two remaining Republican rivals suddenly dropped
out of the race last week, anointing him the party's presumptive
presidential nominee faster than even the confident candidate expected.
As
part of his general election planning, Trump told AP at his office in
New York that he's moving aggressively to identify a running mate with
deep political experience. While he would not provide a full list of
names, he did not rule out New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the former
rival whom he's already tapped to head his transition planning.
Trump's
campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, is running the vice presidential
vetting effort "with a group," Trump said, that includes former
competitor Ben Carson and himself. "Honestly, we're all running it. It's
very much a group effort," said Trump.
A
first-time political candidate, the celebrity businessman said there's
no need for another business person on the Republican ticket and he
wants a running mate who can help him pass legislation as president. By
joining forces with a political veteran, Trump would also signal a
willingness to work with the Republican establishment that he's
thoroughly bashed during his campaign.
Trump
said he doesn't plan to announce his running mate until the Republican
National Convention in July, a four-day event that he's planning to
remake with a showman's touch.
"The concept of
some entertainment from a great singer, a great group I think would be
something maybe to break things up," Trump said. "You'll be hearing
plenty of political speeches."
In the
interview, Trump outlined a general election campaign that banks heavily
on his personal appeal and trademark rallies while spurning the kind of
sophisticated data operation that was a centerpiece of Barack Obama's
winning White House runs.
"I've always felt it
was overrated," Trump said. "Obama got the votes much more so than his
data processing machine. And I think the same is true with me."
He
also effectively ruled out for the first time the option of taking
public financing for his campaign, money that would have saved him the
time-consuming task of raising vast sums but would have dramatically
limited the amount he would have been able to raise.
"I
think I've ruled it out, I think so," said Trump. "I don't like the
idea of taking taxpayer money to run a campaign. I think it's
inappropriate."
Trump stunned the political
world at every turn during the Republican primary season, prioritizing
large rallies over intimate voter interactions in early voting states
and operating with a slim campaign operation. Even as he brings in new
staff for the general election campaign, he says his emphasis will
continue to be on raucous rallies to put him in front of thousands of
voters and generate free media coverage.
"My best investment is my rallies," Trump said. "The people go home, they tell their friends they loved it. It's been good."
The
businessman said he'll spend "limited" money on data operations to
identify and track potential voters and to model various turnout
scenarios that could give him the 270 Electoral College votes needed to
win the presidency. He's moving away from the model Obama used
successfully in his 2008 and 2012 wins, and which Clinton is trying to
replicate, including hiring many of the staff that worked for Obama.
Still,
the Republican National Committee has invested heavily in data
operations, eager to avoid another defeat to a more technologically
savvy Democrat. Trump could make use of that RNC data if he wished.
Trump
and his aides have been meeting RNC officials this week to discuss the
mechanics of his campaign. He is also planning a trip to Washington on
Thursday to meet party leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, who
have had a mixed reaction to his primary success.
Though
Trump has vowed to be tough in taking on Clinton, he also suggested he
might avoid running negative ads against her, saying, "I just don't find
them to be very effective."
"I've had over $100 million in negative ads spent on me and every time it's boosted my numbers," he said.
As
Trump was speaking, however, his campaign posted a new ad on Instagram
assailing Clinton for her response to the attacks on a diplomatic
compound in Benghazi, Libya.
