GOP presidential hopeful Fred Thompson said in an in-studio interview with KCCI-TV in Des Moines that there is no truth to rumors that his campaign will fold before New Hampshire if he doesn't have a strong showing in Iowa.

"That is absolutely made up out of whole cloth," said the former U.S. Senator from Tennessee.

Thompson said a rival campaign was likely the source of that rumor.

"Can you imagine such a thing in politics?" he asked.

Thompson said his campaign is seeing a "surge" in interest right now, and said he has visited 50 communities in the Hawkeye State in the last couple weeks.

"I'm not going to play into any scenario that's not totally optimistic," he said.

Thompson touched on his plan for strengthening border security to prevent terrorist attacks, and his plan to simplify the tax code.

"Our tax code is a mess right now," he said.

Labels: Republicans