Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley on Thursday night refused to categorically rule out becoming former President Donald Trump’s running mate.
Haley has been in damage control mode since Wednesday when she didn’t mention slavery when asked what caused the Civil War at a New Hampshire campaign stop.
Since then, she’s continued to make appearances in the Granite State, ahead of the January 23 primary.
In Lebanon, New Hampshire, a town hall attendee gave Haley a ‘chance to redeem yourself after last night’s slavery thing.’
‘Would you be able to say categorically that you will not accept being Trump’s vice president?’ the potential voter then asked.
Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley wouldn’t nix becoming former President Donald Trump’s running mate, answering a question about it at a town hall in Lebanon, New Hamsphire
Haley would not.
‘I could say to you what you want to hear, and you could go check that box and go do whatever, but I’m going to continue to tell you my truth, and the truth that I have always told the truth, even when I was in the administration,’ Haley said. ‘President Trump and I worked well together. Why? Because I told him the truth.’
‘If you want to talk about vice president, I will tell you this now – I’ve said before, I don’t play for second. I’ve never played for second. I’m not gonna start now,’ she added.
Before her Civil War gaffe this week, Haley was on the ascent and appeared to be solidifying herself as the No. 2 Republican behind Trump, a position that has long been held by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Polls have yet to show if her stumble did any major damage, but DeSantis and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have relished it.
At a campaign stop Thursday in Ankeny, Iowa, DeSantis called Haley’s answer ‘a really incomprehensible word salad.’
The Florida governor said Haley is ‘not a candidate that’s ready for prime time.’
Allies of former President Donald Trump, including his son Donald Trump Jr. and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, have discouraged the ex-president from picking Haley as his running mate, should he win the 2024 Republican nomination
‘The minute that she faces any kind of scrutiny, she tends to cave,’ DeSantis said. ‘I think that that’s what you saw yesterday. Not that difficult to identify and acknowledge the role slavery played in the Civil War, and yet that seemed to be something that was really difficult.’
Christie said Haley’s problem was not that she was ‘racist’ or ‘dumb’ but that she was afraid to offend any of her potential voters by taking strong positions.
The former New Jersey governor said the same thing could be applied to Haley’s stance on Trump.
‘She’s not a racist, it’s worse in some respects. When you want to be president, it’s worse to be able to be dishonest with people, and that’s what’s happening here, she’s holding back,’ Christie said.
Both Christie and DeSantis said they would not serve as Trump’s vice president, should the ex-president become the 2024 Republican nominee.
At the same time, some of Trump’s top allies have discouraged him from considering Haley as vice president, even if there’s a protracted Republican primary.
‘I would not only not vote for that ticket, I would advocate against it as strongly as I could,’ said former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in an interview with conservative media personality Tim Pool.
Donald Trump Jr. said he would go ‘great lengths’ to prevent his father from picking Haley, who served as Trump’s United Nations ambassador.
‘Nikki Haley wants never-ending wars,’ Trump Jr. said on Newsmax. ‘She’s a puppet of the establishment in Washington, D.C. She’s the new favorite candidate of the billionaire class, because they want control – no different than academia at Harvard and using, you know, their billions to exercising influence. They want someone they control. Ron DeSantis has proven that he doesn’t have what it takes to be on that stage. He’s embarrassed himself that way. She’s now the preferred candidate.’