Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley “probably” won’t be chosen as Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate if he wins the Republican nomination, the former president told New Hampshire voters on Friday.
The 77-year-old GOP presidential front-runner’s comments came the same day Haley was heard telling Granite State voters that being Trump’s vice president was “off the table.”
“She’s fine, but she’s not a presidential stick,” Trump said at a rally in Concord, referring to Haley’s tenure as ambassador to the United Nations during his administration.
“Now when I say that, that probably means she won’t be elected vice president,” he added, leaving little doubt that he wouldn’t use Haley to be No. 2.
“When you say certain things, it kind of takes them out of the game, doesn’t it?” Trump continued. “I can’t say, ‘He’s not a stickler for vice president’ and then say, ‘Ladies and gentlemen I’m proud to announce that I’ve chosen —’ do you understand?”
Trump said Haley was “not a presidential stick” and suggested that he would not choose her as his running mate. Reuters
Haley told New Hampshire voters on Friday that being Trump’s vice president is “off the table.” AFP via Getty Images
The former president also revealed that one of the reasons he nominated Haley to serve in his Cabinet in 2016 was because he wanted South Carolina Lt. Governor Henry McMaster to lead the Palmetto State.
“By moving [Haley] somewhere, Henry McMaster became the governor of South Carolina,” Trump said of his thought process at the time.
“He was with me the whole way. I helped him,” Trump said of McMaster’s accession to the governorship in January 2017.
Haley’s primary GOP rival has long speculated that the White House hopeful is aiming for a spot under Trump on the 2024 GOP ticket. Haley has maintained she is not in the running for second place, but has not specifically said she would reject Trump’s bid, arguing that such a declaration will drive the news cycle “for days.”
His clearest rejection of the idea so far came Friday in Amherst, where he was asked by a voter if he would promise not to be Trump’s running mate.
“I’ve said from the beginning that I’m not playing for second, I don’t want to be anyone’s vice president. That’s off the table,” Haley replied, according to Politico and the Washington Post.
“I always say that. That is a game they play that I will not play. I don’t want to be vice president,” he added.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
