Former President Donald Trump should pick a vice presidential candidate who "will help him win," South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, adding that she has not been formally vetted as his running mate.
"I haven't received any paperwork," said Noem, who last month said that polls in battleground states show that a women as his vice presidential candidate would help Trump win the election in November.
She added on Sunday, "I've had conversations with the president, and I know that he is the only one who will be making the decisions on who will be his vice president."
When pressed if Trump would be making a mistake by not choosing a woman, Noem said that "he needs to pick the best person for the job" and that he should chose "someone that will help him win."
Trump's search for a running mate is focused on three Republican men: Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, NBC News reported on Friday.
Noem had been seen by many experts as a top prospect to be Trump's running mate but faced harsh criticism earlier this year about an anecdote appearing in her memoir in which she talked about killing her family's young dog.
Asked if those criticisms torpedoed her chance at being Trump's choice for a running mate, Noem did not directly respond, saying only that the incident with the dog "was a story from 20 years ago about me protecting my children from a vicious animal."
She added, "The reason it is in my book is because that book is filled with challenging times and hard decisions."