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Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, took exception to former Vice President Mike Pence saying his boss at the time, President Donald Trump, was “wrong” about him possessing the power as vice president to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Appearing on Fox News’ Special Report, Haley was asked to respond after host Bret Baier played a clip of Pence’s remarks Friday at a Federalist Society event in Florida.
“There are those in our party who believe that as the presiding officer over the joint session of Congress, that I possess unilateral authority to reject Electoral College votes. And I heard this week that President Trump said I had the right to overturn the election,” Pence said. “But President Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election. The presidency belongs the American people, and the American people alone. And frankly, there’s no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president.”
“Mike Pence is a good man. He’s an honest man. I think he did what he thought was right on that day,” Haley said. “But I will always say, I just, I’m not a fan of Republicans going against Republicans. The only ones that win when that happens are the Democrats and the media. And we have to keep our eyes on 2022. We’ve got to get the majority back in the House, we’ve got to get it in the Senate and we’ve got a lot of governors races to win.”
In a clear reference to the Democratic Party’s so-called voter rights bill that seeks to strip states of many of their election responsibilities, Haley stressed that she does not want to see federalized elections.
“I want them to continue to be managed by the states,” she said. “We have seen fraud in elections time and time again. And when that happens it’s up to the governors and state legislatures to make sure that we hold them to account. That’s through voter I.D. and making sure that elections are decided on Election Day. That’s making sure we verify signatures.”
Baier interjected to get Haley on the record about the 2020 election being legitimate.
“Yeah. When you have issues with elections, you go and you fix them that way,” she said. “Look, I do think Joe Biden is the legitimate president? Yes, he’s a bad one at that. But the idea — this is up to the states to fix when it happens. This is up to the courts to fix. but I think Mike Pence was saying what he thought he had to say, he a good man and an honest. And I hope at the end of the day, Donald Trump and Mike Pence can come together and realize that a lot of Republicans need our help in 2022.”
Trump responded to Pence in a statement Friday, calling his second in command President Biden’s “automatic conveyor belt” to the White House.
“Just saw Mike Pence’s statement on the fact that he had no right to do anything with respect to the Electoral Vote Count, other than being an automatic conveyor belt for the Old Crow Mitch McConnell to get Biden elected President as quickly as possible. Well, the Vice President’s position is not an automatic conveyor if obvious signs of voter fraud or irregularities exist,” Trump said.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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