Former President Donald Trump recently made the announcement on Friday that he is not considering Nikki Haley as his running mate for the 2024 presidential election. This happened just hours after Haley had made a statement that she was not interested in being Trump’s running mate.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Concord, New Hampshire, Trump mentioned that he had only appointed Haley as an ambassador to the United Nations as a favor to South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster. Haley had resigned from her position as governor to join the Trump administration.
“Nikki is somebody that puts America last,” said Trump. “She is not presidential timber. Now when I say that, that probably means that she’s not gonna be chosen as the vice president.”
He continued:
“You can go and you can say certain things, you know, “I don’t like ’em” and ba ba ba, but 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 a vice…” and then say, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m proud to announce that I’ve picked…” Do you understand? But that’s the way it is.”
Trump made the remarks just hours after Haley declared, “I don’t play for second. I don’t want to be anybody’s vice president. That is off the table.”
Prior to his remarks on Friday, Trump had refused to rule out Haley becoming his 2024 running mate, despite heavy opposition to the idea from close allies and supporters, including Donald Trump Jr., Roger Stone, and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who said Haley “would be reason to oppose the ticket.”
Earlier this month, former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon warned that “a big fight” would soon take place to determine the future of the Trump campaign and whether Haley would be selected as Trump’s running mate.
