Hillary Clinton on rumours about becoming Bloomberg's running mate: ‘I’m just waiting and watching’

Hillary Clinton has often said "never say never" when it comes to the possibility of holding elected office again.

But in a new interview, the former secretary of state all but denied the idea of joining a Democratic ticket with Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire presidential hopeful who has surged in recent national polling after a heavily-funded advertising blitz.

Speaking at a Clinton Global Initiative event in Puerto Rico, Ms Clinton was asked about the 2020 race and whether should would consider serving as Mr Bloomberg’s vice president if he were to win the nomination.

“Oh, no,” she responded. “I’m just waiting and watching as this plays out. I will support whoever the nominee is because I think, for all the reasons you can imagine, and here in Puerto Rico there are many, we need to have a new president for our country.”

Ms Clinton’s comments came after reports circulated online throughout the week alleging Mr Bloomberg was weighing the idea of adding her to his potential ticket.

A tweet posted by the famed news aggregator Matt Drudge claimed: “Sources close to Bloomberg campaign tell DRUDGE REPORT that candidate is considering Hillary as running mate, after their polling found the Bloomberg-Clinton combination would be a formidable force.”

There has been no other reporting or evidence to back these claims, and Mr Bloomberg has not confirmed the rumours surrounding his campaign’s alleged internal polling data.

However, Ms Clinton has frequently been asked about joining a Democratic ticket throughout the election cycle. Just last week, daytime talk show host Ellen Degeneres asked her whether she’d serve as a vice presidential pick if any of the Democratic hopefuls asked her to join their campaign.

“Well, that’s not going to happen, but no,” she said.

“I never say never because I do believe in serving my country,” Ms Clinton continued, “but it’s not going to happen.”

Ms Clinton has raised prospects about joining the campaign trail in 2020 after losing to Donald Trump in the 2020 elections. In an interview with BBC last year, the former Democratic nominee said “many, many, many people” were encouraging her to throw her hat in the ring.

“I, as I say, never, never, never say never,” she added at the time. “But as of this moment, sitting here in this studio talking to you, that is absolutely not in my plans.”