Dispelling some short list speculation, the former president spoke to “presidential timber” when he struck down one primary opponent as “probably” out of the running.
(Video: RSBN)
Following the results in Iowa, many have moved beyond the GOP presidential primary, fully prepared to advance former President Donald Trump as the de facto candidate. As such, questions about his potential running mate remained high among supporters prompting some answers on his consideration of former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.
“And like I said, she was okay, but she was not, she is not presidential timber,” Trump said at a Concord, New Hampshire event Friday, moments after suggesting the former South Carolina governor had been out of her depth after being named a diplomat.
The president hedged as he clarified, “Now when I say that, that probably means that she’s not going to be chosen as the vice president.”
“You can go and you can say certain things — ‘I don’t like ’em…’ — 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-‘ You understand?” he said to crowd, “But that’s the way it is, okay. Tell it like it is.”
Earlier in his remarks, Trump had told those gathered, “You have people that put America last and Nikki is somebody that puts America last. I used to watch her when we were dealing with different countries like Russia or China and she was sittin’ there like,” he said before acting as someone with their mouth agape and acknowledging, “I put her in the room.”
He then suggested the only reason for appointing Haley to the UN was to get South Carolina’s then-Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster into the role of governor.
For her part, Haley slapped down the suggestion that she was sticking around with the hopes of garnering the second spot on the GOP ticket. As had been reported, while speaking with diners in Amherst, New Hampshire Friday, she was hard saying, “I’ve said from the very beginning: I don’t play for second. I don’t want to be anybody’s vice president. That is off the table.”
Nikki Haley won’t accept second place: ‘I don’t want to be anybody’s vice-president’ https://t.co/HZ2sI2L3q9 via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) January 20, 2024
That comment had followed her third-place finish in Iowa which she had previewed by attempting to sell second-place as a victory for her campaign.
Rumblings on who could have a future moving into the residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory included two newcomers to public office, according to Fox Business: freshman Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and first-term Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders.
Charlie Gasparino had attributed those names to a short list citing campaign senior officials before naming a “long shot” with a more tangible policy record, House Republican Conference Chair and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik,
While a source had told Fox Business, “I doubt we hear anything anytime soon. His people are still talking about different players,” Stefanik, who had appeared at the Concord rally, had recently told the Wall Street Journal, “I would be honored to serve in the Trump administration in any capacity.”
During the 2016 bid for the White House, the then-presumptive GOP nominee had still waited until his primary victory was all but locked in before announcing that then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence would be his running mate in July.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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