Gov. John Hickenlooper talks about veep speculation
In 2008, then Denver mayor John Hickenlooper welcomed the Democratic National Committee and then-Senator Barack Obama to the mile-high city for his historic nomination. Now the governor of Colorado, Hickenlooper is being floated as one of the top picks to be Hillary Clinton's running mate.
But the Clinton supporter brushed off the speculations Monday, saying that he wasn't "trying to be VP."
"I have the best job in the world. I think that list is a very long list and I think that I'm down towards the bottom, so... that's not the point of contention or a point of real discussion," Hickenlooper told "CBS This Morning."
The Democratic front-runner and her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, are neck-and-neck in the horse race and in favorability -- both currently have high unfavorable ratings of 57 percent.
But Hickenlooper bolstered his support for Clinton, suggesting that America needed a reality check regarding Trump.
"I think what Donald Trump has been presenting - like "The [Apprentice]" - people think that "The [Apprentice]" is real life and really, that's not a vision for America," Hickenlooper said. "I mean, it's not a plan of what we should be doing or how we should be approaching our problems."
Hickenlooper also denounced the negative tone of the campaign, comparing it to the days when he was bullied as a "skinny kid in elementary school." In his new memoir, "The Opposite of Woe: My Life in Beer and Politics," the governor wrote that not running negative campaign ads has "always been my policy."
"When someone's kind of a braggart to the bully... it makes me on edge just because I live that and I don't think that's a model we want for our kids in this country," Hickenlooper said. "Obviously, this is my opinion, but I hold it pretty strongly."
Since he was elected governor in 2010, Hickenlooper has led his state through the legalization of recreational marijuana. Although he initially opposed legalization, he acknowledged a change of heart during a "60 Minutes" interview last year, saying that he saw how it "can work."
In addition to being the first state to legalize recreational marijuana, Colorado is also known as the site of some of the nation's worst mass shootings -- including the Aurora movie theater massacre, Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shooting and Columbine.
Hickenlooper advocates some gun control -- a point he made in his book -- including universal background checks for all gun sales, comprehensive overhaul of the mental health system and limiting high-capacity magazines. He responded to Trump's proposal to eliminate gun-free zones in schools, following his endorsement by the NRA.
"I mean, universal background checks work. You keep the guns out of the hands of dangerous people. That shouldn't be partisan -- that should be something we can all agree to but it became this huge battle and you know, really, really a challenge," Hickenlooper said Monday morning. "...Sometimes, we modify our regulations... sometimes we modify that for the overall public good of the country."