US election 2016: Donald Trump does not think Sarah Palin wants to be his vice president

GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump tried to quiet speculation that Tea Party darling Sarah Palin could become his vice presidential running mate — saying he does not think she would be interested.

When pressed on NBC's Today show, Trump would not commit to the woman who had just handed him a valuable endorsement that will draw conservative support away from his main rival, Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

"I don't think it would be something she'd want to do," Trump said when asked if he would make the former Alaska governor his Number Two. "She's been through that," he added, referring to her failed 2008 bid as Senator John McCain's vice presidential candidate.

He insisted he hasn't yet considered potential vice-presidential candidates, and had not discussed the possibility with Palin.

Trump stressed that her endorsement was never "part of a deal" to be chosen to run as his vice president. "As far as Sarah is concerned, never asked me about that, never asked me about anything else, just wanted to support," Trump said.

He added: "I don't even think about VP right now. There are a lot of good people out there in the Republican Party. I just want to win. I've always been a closer. I get the deal done."

Trump did say that there would be some role for Palin in a Trump White House, though he did not specify what it might be. "Certainly there'd be a role for her in the administration if she wanted — and I'm not sure she does want that — but there would certainly be a role," he said.

"Everybody's been trying to get Sarah. Everybody wanted that endorsement," he added.

Palin said in an interview on CNN in late 2015 that she would like to be secretary of energy.

Oddly, Palin didn't show up to campaign with Trump in Iowa the day after her endorsement, even though he promised a "surprise guest" at one campaign stop who never showed up. She did join him later in Oklahoma just days after Palin's Iraq veteran son, Track, was arrested on a domestic violence charge for allegedly punching his girlfriend at the Palin Alaska home. Track, 26, was charged with assault, interfering with the report of a domestic violence crime and possessing a weapon while intoxicated.

Palin indicated in her Tulsa speech that her son's problems were linked to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. "My son, like so many others, they come back a bit different, they come back hardened," Palin told the campaign crowd as she lambasted President Obama's "lack of support" for veterans.