Don’t expect a Haley-DeSantis ticket this November.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis quickly threw cold water on GOP presidential rival Nikki Haley as his running mate, as she edged him in the polls.
The former US ambassador to the United Nations and governor of South Carolina extended an olive branch late last week, indicating that he would “probably” consider her number two.
“I’m not going to accept it under any circumstances,” DeSantis responded Saturday in an interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto.
“I am running for president because I think we need someone who can win and get the job done. I would rather spend my last two years as governor than vice president. I don’t think it’s a post that offers much. I want to make an impact.”
DeSantis entered the 2024 Republican race for president in May of last year as the strongest contender against former President Donald Trump in most polls.
However, in recent weeks, Haley has gained momentum in the polls, prompting her and DeSantis to step up their attacks on each other.
“I will defeat Donald Trump myself. That is the goal we have. If he wants to join me, I welcome him,” Haley told NBC and the Des Moines Register about DeSantis in a joint interview.
Nikki Haley has touted some momentum in the polls but is still ahead of Donald Trump. ZUMAPRESS.com
DeSantis and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have hammered Haley in recent weeks on whether she is quietly positioning herself to serve as Trump’s vice president.
“He will not answer directly – and he owes you an answer to this – will he accept the vice presidential nomination from Donald Trump? Yes or no. I can tell you, in any case, I will not accept it because that is not the reason I’m running,” DeSantis said last month, according to ABC.
His campaign has also launched a website to bash him over the vice presidential question.
Last week, Christie recounted a conversation with an unnamed South Carolina politician “who knows him very well.”
“I said, ‘Am I reading this wrong?’ And he said to me, ‘Governor, he’s going to eat glass to get the vice presidential nomination under Trump.’ That’s how ambitious he is,” Chris said on ABC’s “The View.”
Haley has repeatedly refused to rule out the possibility of serving as Trump’s running mate but has generally told voters and the media something like “I’m not playing for either,” when asked.
The former South Carolina governor also accused his rivals of being desperate with their attacks on the veepstakes.
Ron DeSantis has stepped up his criticism of Nikki Haley in recent weeks, arguing that she lacks core convictions. Reuters
“They have criticized me for everything. Let’s be clear. That’s what happens when you lose,” he told Fox News.
In the midst of Haley’s passion to be No. 2 Trump, some key allies of the 45th president such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Donald Trump Jr., Steven Bannon, and others are threatening backlash if he becomes veep elect.
Voters are set to begin weighing the GOP presidential battle with the Jan. 15 Iowa Caucus, which will be followed by the Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary.
Donald Trump is the primary choice to be the Republican standard bearer. Reuters
Trump was the runaway frontrunner in early states, but faces 91 felony charges and is appealing rulings in Colorado and Maine that bar him from the primary ballot in his bid to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.
He averaged 62.7% support nationally, followed by Haley at 11%, and DeSantis at 10.9%, according to the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
