Donald Trump attacked Rick Santorum and speculated on a future role in a Mitt Romney cabinet in an interview aired Wednesday morning on CNN but taped before Romney's three losses in Tuesday's contests.
"Rick Santorum is a sitting senator who, in re-election, lost by 19 points," Trump said. "To my knowledge, the most in the history of this country for a sitting senator to lose by, 19 points. It's unheard of. Then he goes out and says, 'Oh, OK, I just lost by the biggest margin in history, now I'm going to run for president.' Tell me, how does that work? How does that work?"
"That's like me saying I just failed a test," he added. "Now I'm going to apply for admission to the Wharton School of Finance. OK. He just failed a test. And now he's going to run for president."
"So, I don't get Rick Santorum. I don't get that whole thing," he continued.
Trump endorsed Romney last week.
Santorum won the Missouri primary and Minnesota and Colorado caucuses Tuesday night. Minnesota and Missouri were blowouts, with Romney finishing about 30 points behind Santorum. Romney lost Colorado by five points to Santorum. However, the Romney campaign may have seen the writing on the wall as they turned their sights on Santorum Monday and downplayed expectations Tuesday.
Trump was asked whether there was a place for him in a future Romney administration. "Well, it's certainly not something I'm looking for," he said, adding that he hadn't discussed it with him.
When asked about what cabinet position he would choose, he replied, "I don't know, maybe a position where I negotiate against some of these countries. Because they are really taking our lunch."
Romney said recently he shares Trump's concern about China, even though his rhetoric is often not diplomatic. "He shares my concern about China, the fact that China has been able to run roughshod over many industries in this country, and that presidents have looked at it, have complained about it, but really haven't taken action to stop China from taking away our jobs," Romney said recently.