Rivals rip Nikki Haley as ‘Trump’s running mate’ post-Sununu backing
Nikki Haley’s competitors for the Republican presidential nomination have piled on her in recent days, arguing she’s really hoping to be former President Donald Trump’s No. 2 should he clinch the GOP nod.
The criticism has stepped up in intensity after New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu endorsed Haley Tuesday, giving a boost to the candidate who polls show is running second in the first-in-the-nation primary state behind Trump.
Rivals Chris Christie and Ron DeSantis have argued that the former South Carolina governor has no real interest in becoming president, noting she’s kept her attacks on Trump to a minimum — criticizing the expanding national debt under his watch and saying that “chaos” follows the former president.
In a Wednesday CNN interview alongside Sununu, Haley — who launched her campaign with a vow to make politicians over 75 take regular mental fitness tests — said the 77-year-old Trump was “fit” for the job, but added that she wants a “new generational leader.”
That prompted Christie, who has billed himself as the only candidate willing to take on the 45th president directly, to tear into Haley at a town hall in Londonderry, NH Wednesday night — saying the former ambassador to the United Nations should “run as his [Trump’s] running mate.”
“You can’t keep trying to thread this needle where you don’t want to offend anyone,” the former New Jersey governor said.
Meanwhile, Matt Wolking — a rep for the DeSantis-backing super PAC Never Back Down — pointed to Haley’s hesitancy to criticize the 45th president’s record in an email blast. He also highlighted Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara not ruling out Haley being chosen as VP.
“Crazier things have happened,” the wife of former first son Eric Trump told Newsmax’s Eric Bolling about Haley’s chances Monday evening. “I don’t know, I would never say never with Donald J. Trump.”
“Trumpworld isn’t ruling out Nikki Haley as Trump’s running mate – and why would they?” Wolking said. “It’s not like Haley is saying anything very negative about Trump. After all, her ad dollars are being spent on attack ads against DeSantis, something Trump no doubt appreciates after he encouraged her to run for president this year.”
Haley spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas pooh-poohed the accusations, telling The Post: “That’s a pretty lame attack coming from the two fellas competing for third.”
The idea of Trump picking Haley as his running mate isn’t just limited to her rivals.
Former House speaker Kevin McCarthy said last month Haley would be a great VP pick if Trump was looking to make a “political” decision.
“If I was a political person, and I was going to advise somebody, you’re going to pick the vice president that’s about addition, not subtraction. So you’re not going to pick somebody that already equates to you,” McCarthy told the New York Times DealBook Summit Nov. 29. “Now if I was picking for purely political decisions, what it looks like today is the anti-Trump vote is going to Nikki Haley.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), on the other hand, criticized the prospect of Haley being given any position in Trump’s administration.
“MAGA would revolt if Nikki Haley were to even be given an internship in Trump’s next administration,” Greene said on X Tuesday.
“She represents the neocon establishment America last wing of the Republican Party that we are absolutely done with.”
Trump and Haley’s campaigns did not respond to inquiries from The Post about the prospects of a 2024 alliance.
The two GOP contenders have traded barbs recently, with Trump calling Haley “bird brain,” but used to be on amicable terms when Haley served as US ambassador to the UN.
The former president has not made any public indication that he is considering Haley as a serious VP prospect, and the former South Carolina governor has repeatedly argued she’s in the 2024 race to win and that she doesn’t “play for second.”
