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Donald Trump on Gov. Mike Pence as VP: 'Who the hell knows?'

Trump: 'I'm the law & order candidate'
Posted at 10:28 PM, Jul 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-13 00:29:37-04

Will Gov. Mike Pence be Donald Trump's choice for vice president?

"Who the hell knows?"

That was the closest the presumptive Republican presidential nominee got to talking about his VP pick Tuesday night at a campaign rally in Westfield, Indiana.

GALLERY | See photos from Donald Trump's rally in Westfield

Pence opened for Trump, saying he hoped Indiana would be the "first state on the board" to make Trump the 45th president of the United States.

"Here in Indiana we know that strong, Republican leadership works," Pence said. "Different from our neighbors in Illinois, we have balanced budgets. We've cut taxes. We've made record investments in education and roads, and today, there are more Hoosiers going to work than ever before in the 200-year history of the great state of Indiana. That's what Republican leadership gets you. And that's exactly the kind of no-nonsense leadership that Donald Trump is going to bring to the White House this November."

With that, a more-animated-than-usual Pence turned the stage over to Trump, who proceeded to hit the usual high notes of his campaign: building a wall along the Mexican border; renegotiating trade deals; and a 35 percent tax on companies like Carrier that move jobs out of the U.S.

"We're going to bring our manufacturing back," Trump said. "You look at what's happened since NAFTA … that bill was signed by Bill Clinton. We're not going to let Carrier come in, make air conditioners in Mexico and sell them to us across a very strong border, now. We're going to tell them, if you want to sell your air conditioners, you're going to pay a 35 percent tax. And you know what's going to happen? They're not going to move."

WATCH TRUMP'S FULL SPEECH BELOW OR IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE:

Trump told a packed crowd at Grand Park in Westfield that despite his criticism of free trade deals like NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership – which Pence has been a vocal proponent of – he's not an isolationist.

"I'm not an isolationist. I'm a free trader," Trump said. "But I'm a free trader to make great deals, not make horrible deals. I know free. I know fair. I know every form of trade known to mankind. Here’s my definition of trade: My definition of trade is that I want to make great deals for the American people. You can call it whatever the hell you want."

Trump ended the night with a nod to the speculation around his VP pick, saying people will be calling Pence next year because Indiana is "winning too much."

"I joke, you'll be calling up Mike Pence – I don't know if he's going to be your governor or your vice president, who the hell knows," Trump said. "You're going to be saying, 'Governor, or vice president, talk to Mr. Trump. We're winning too much.'"

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