During a televised town hall event earlier this month, former President Donald Trump piqued voters’ curiosity when he announced that he had already selected his running mate for the general election.
“I know who it’s going to be,” he told the moderators of the Fox News event, but when he was asked for specifics, he said: “I can’t tell you that really.”
Early speculation pointed to former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley as a likely choice, but Trump poured cold water on that theory in a subsequent rally ahead of Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary.
⚠️Never Nikki⚠️
Trump squashes the Nikki Haley VP theories for good.
“She’s not Presidential timber. When I say that, that probably means she’s not going to be chosen as Vice President”.
DeSantis influencers were wrong again. Seems to be quite the trend. pic.twitter.com/EndtEbnxkD
— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) January 20, 2024
“She is OK, but she is not presidential timber,” Trump told supporters of his primary election rival. “And when I say that, that probably means she is not going to be chosen as the vice president.”
The GOP primary front-runner went on to explain his thought process in greater detail.
“When you say certain things, it sort of takes them out of play, right?” he asked. “I can’t say, ‘She’s not of the timber to be the vice president’ and then say, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I’m proud to announce that I’ve picked — .’”
Several prominent Trump supporters have spoken out publicly against the idea of a Trump-Haley ticket, including his eldest son, who dismissed the notion in a recent interview.
“Nikki Haley wants never-ending wars,” said Donald Trump Jr. “She’s a puppet of the establishment in Washington, D.C. She’s the new favorite candidate of the billionaire class because they want control — no different than academia and Harvard and using their billions to exercise influence.”
As for the possibility that his father would select her as his running mate, he declared: “I wouldn’t have her and I would go to great lengths to make sure that that doesn’t happen.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is also running in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, criticized Haley in recent weeks for refusing to reject the possibility of joining Trump’s ticket. She has clarified her position in recent days.
“I don’t want to be anybody’s vice president,” she said during a campaign stop in New Hampshire on Friday. “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.”
