Former President Donald Trump drew a line in the sand at a weekend rally in New Hampshire concerning his vice presidential pick. The Republican frontrunner told the audience that it will probably not be former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
He declared she is “okay, but she is not presidential timber.”
Trump then added, “when you say certain things, it sort of takes them out of play, right? I can’t say, ‘She’s not of the timber to be vice president’ and then say, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I’m proud to announce that I’ve picked…”
Trump noted his belief that Haley could not successfully deal with China’s Xi or Russia’s Putin.
Once considered a longshot, Haley is now Trump’s closest competitor as the New Hampshire primary looms. She is still, however, far removed from any realistic chance of overtaking the former president for the top of the Republican ticket.
Trump says Nikki Haley isn’t “presidential timbre” and confirms she “won’t be chosen” as his Vice President because she’s been taken “out of play” pic.twitter.com/7sG8MUjgVQ
— Julia 🇺🇸 (@Jules31415) January 20, 2024
There was a sharp backlash in recent weeks when the idea of Haley teaming with Trump was floated. Former first son Don Jr. spoke out strongly against the possibility, saying she supports “never-ending wars” and is a “puppet” of the political establishment.
The former U.N. ambassador also claimed that a vice presidential nomination is not in her cards.
Haley strongly expressed her unwillingness to be the number two on a presidential ticket. Speaking at a diner in Amherst ahead of the New Hampshire primary, she said she’s only after one job.
The former governor asserted, “I don’t want to be anybody’s vice president. That is off the table. I have always said that. That is a game they play that I’m not going to play. I don’t want to be vice president.”
Haley further removed herself from potential consideration by ramping up her attacks on the Republican frontrunner.
Trump’s overwhelming victory in the Hawkeye State was not impressive, according to his rival. “You look at Iowa. I mean President Trump won a state of three million people with 56,000 votes. We had a very low turnout in Iowa. We’re going to have a really good turnout in New Hampshire.”
While in Rochester over the weekend, Haley took Trump to task on several key issues. She claimed he backed increasing the federal gas tax and accused him of falsely portraying her public record.
Between the former president’s proclamation and Haley’s attacks, a pairing of the two appears highly unlikely.
