Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley says she won’t formally reject Donald Trump as a running mate — claiming to do so would fuel the news cycle “for days” and rob her campaign of much-needed momentum.
Haley’s rivals — as well as some Republicans in Trump World — have speculated she’s really aiming for the No. 1 spot. 2 behind the 77-year-old on the 2024 GOP ticket. The former ambassador to the United Nations insisted he is not in the running for second place, but did not specifically say he would reject Trump’s offer.
“First of all, it’s very painful to think I’m going through all this to run for vice president,” Haley told the New Hampshire Union Leader in an interview published Thursday.
“I am fighting to be president and I will win,” he added.
Haley then predicted that turning down the Vice Presidency would be “news for days” and diverted attention from Trump’s recent polling gains in New Hampshire, where a new poll showed him within four percentage points of the 45th president. .
Nationally, Trump continues to dominate primary polls by an average of 50 points over his nearest competitor, according to RealClearPolitics.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign has played down rumors of Haley wanting to run with Trump, launching a microsite to track the claims.
Nikki Haley has never ruled out a run for VP, but has said she is not running for second. Reuters
“He won’t answer directly — and he owes you an answer for this — is he going to accept the vice presidential nomination from Donald Trump? Yes or no,” DeSantis himself said last month.
Those in Trump’s inner circle openly expressed concern that the former president would seriously consider Haley for the job.
Former White House strategist Steve Bannon speculated earlier this week that a “big fight” would break out in the spring over the issue.
“They’re going to try to force Nikki to get a ticket,” Bannon said Monday on the “Human Events Daily” program. “They’ll say ‘Trump needs a woman, Nikki, on the ticket, she balances everything and she can muster the 15% of Trump that never Trumped in the Republican Party.’ We have to fight that.”
Nikki Haley works in the Trump administration as its ambassador to the UN. Getty Images
Donald Trump Jr. said he would personally intervene if Haley would become his father’s VP.
“I’m not going to have it and I’m going to work hard to make sure that doesn’t happen,” he told Newsmax’s Eric Bolling in an interview in December.
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, a Trump supporter, also expressed heavy criticism, telling podcaster Tim Pool that “I’m not only not going to vote for that ticket, I’m going to support it as hard as I can.”
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, also a Trump supporter, said the choice would be a “mistake,” but would not change her support for the former president.
“If he picks it, I’ll tell him I don’t agree with him. But then I’ll support the ticket, because he’s still the president and the president still makes the decisions,” Noem told Bolling Tuesday.
Noem previously said he would accept the VP job “in a heartbeat” if Trump offered it.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
