A message for all those GOP vice presidential hopefuls who humiliated themselves in an attempt to get on Donald Trump’s ticket: The joke’s on you.
(That cursing you hear is probably coming from Tim Scott.)
A report by Axios on Saturday said that Trump could wave a white flag and select Nikki Haley in a desperate attempt to reclaim Haley voters who continue to reject Trump long after Haley exited the Republican primary.
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Trump, losing badly to President Joe Biden in fundraising, also wants to siphon cash from Haley’s donors, two people familiar with the discussions told Axios.
Biden had hoped to peel off a percentage of Haley voters who find Trump unacceptable.
Trump and Haley have quieted the vicious sniping that marked the primary, but earlier this year, Trump said Haley didn’t have “presidential timber” and Haley said Trump was “not qualified” to be president.
Haley also cited Trump’s age and her supporters mocked Trump when he referred to her as Nancy Pelosi on the campaign trail.
But politics is politics.
According to Axios: Trump would choose Haley if she’d help him win the presidency, avoid a potential prison sentence and cover tens of millions in legal bills if he loses.
In last week’s Indiana primary, more than 120,000 voted for Haley.
Republicans close to both campaigns believe it’s inHaley and Trump’s mutual interests to reconcile, despite their bitter fight in the GOP primary and their divergent views on some big issues.
Although voters seldom choose a presidential candidate based on a running mate, a reconciliation with Haley, his former UN ambassador, also could help Trump attract college-educated Republicans who have kept voting for her in primaries even after she dropped out.
Haley hasn’t endorsed Trump, and if she withholds her support and Trump loses in November, she could be blamed by the party.
But who will make the first move? She has said the burden is on Trump to reach out to her and her supporters if he wants to unite the GOP. Trump’s campaign says the party already has rallied behind him.
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