Tim Pawlenty: 'I'm Running for President'

Everybody knows that Tim Pawlenty is running for president, even though he's only formed an exploratory committee. But last night he made headlines for actually saying the words—maybe inadvertently—in an interview airing on Piers Morgan's CNN show. After pointing out that Donald Trump is ahead of Pawlenty in recent polls, Morgan asked him if he'd consider being Trump's VP. Pawlenty laughed, then responded: "I'm running for president. I'm not putting my hat in the ring rhetorically or ultimately for vice president. I'm focused on running for president."

CNN showed off that clip in promoting the interview, but neglected to mention what comes next: Morgan asks Pawlenty if he's making an official announcement, and Pawlenty says no. "We'll have a final or full announcement on that in the coming weeks," he says. "But everything is headed in that direction." The promotional clip drew a sharp denial from a Pawlenty spokesman. "Of course he didn't announce tonight," he told Reuters. (More Tim Pawlenty 2012 stories.)