House Speaker John Boehner has not talked to Mitt Romney despite endorsing him and helping to solidify his standing as the likely GOP presidential nominee last week, the Republican leader revealed in an upcoming interview.
"He called and I called him back. We've kind of traded some voice mails," Boehner said in an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” set to air Sunday. CNN released portions of the interview on Friday.
Boehner sought to tamp down the idea that he and Romney are cooperating closely behind the scenes.
Boehner said he avoided talking to all of the Republican candidates during the primaries. But Rick Santorum dropped out of the race earlier this month, and the path seems clear for Romney to accumulate the 1,144 delegates he needs to win the Republican nomination.
"But I expect that I will [talk to him] soon," Boehner added, "now that he's the guy."
One thing Boehner and Romney might talk about are the qualities Romney is looking for in his running mate. But Boehner refused to name names or make recommendations, calling it "a personal choice" for Romney.
"I'm confident he'll have a running mate that will be helpful to the ticket," Boehner said. "I think the number one quality is, are they capable of being president in the case of an emergency."
Boehner would only say that his description of the essential quality "fits a lot of people," including Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Rob Portman (Ohio), and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, all names that have been included in the rampant speculation over who will end up on the eventual GOP ticket with the presumptive nominee.
"I can go down a long list of people," Boehner said, shying away from the topic.
