A clearly nervous Trump floats Nikki Haley as his VP | Opinion
In 2008, Hillary Clinton had the good sense to not float the idea that her then-top rival, Barack Obama, serve as her vice president until after the Chicago senator had proven himself at the ballot box. Donald Trump is so threatened by his top rival, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, he couldn’t wait for the first primary to begin floating the idea of Haley as his running mate.
The clicky-clack of Haley’s high heels still seem to be ringing louder in Trump’s ears by the day. Just think about how scared Trump must be to risk giving the Haley campaign even more oxygen – and more positive headlines – by letting it be known he is considering her as a running mate. Haley’s recent rise in the polls, including strong numbers in New Hampshire and growing momentum in Iowa, has so caught the attention of Trump, he’s asking people outside of his campaign “What do you think of Nikki?” according to Politico.
That’s despite Trump maintaining a stranglehold on the party and the polls. While Haley’s rise is real, she remains 15 percentage points down to Trump in New Hampshire and further behind overall. Trump remains a favorite to win the South Carolina GOP primary. Besides, there’s little evidence Trump’s base would ever choose anyone else or that Trump or Trump voters would simply accept results that don’t show him victorious. It’s the ultimate dilemma for establishment Republicans enamored by Haley. They see why she’d be a formidable general election candidate against President Joe Biden, as well as a way for the party to move beyond Trump. They also know what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, and likely understand better than most that pushing Trump aside would lead to a Republican Civil War. Since 2016, they’ve benefited from the fire of the MAGA base but know if they aren’t careful they can be burned by it in 2024.
That’s what makes Trump’s inquiries about a Haley vice presidency intriguing. The party remains in his pocket despite, or maybe because of, dozens of criminal indictments, the Nazi-era rhetoric he’s been spouting about immigrants, and his declaration of becoming a dictator (if only for one day, wink wink) if he recaptures the White House. His base has proven it is willing to violently attack the heart of our democracy on his behalf. And yet, he can’t stop thinking about Haley.
In 2008, Clinton understood Obama was a real threat, but maybe not until after he broke through by winning the Iowa caucuses and earning more delegates and votes during the primary season than she had amassed. With Haley, it is for now just the promise of a threat, though I think a real one. She hasn’t earned a single primary vote, because not one has been cast. She hasn’t been tested on a stage next to Trump, because he’s been too scared to show up for any of the early debates. All she has is good vibes, increasing poll numbers and a growing number of positive headlines.
Or maybe Trump sees what I see, that a woman of color could not become governor of a state like South Carolina without immense political talent. Maybe that’s why his base, including former Fox News star Tucker Carlson and former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon, is unnerved by all this Haley talk. Trump was supposed to cake walk to a third consecutive GOP presidential nomination, and now this woman from rural South Carolina is at least challenging what was supposed to be a foregone conclusion.
I want to see neither Trump nor Haley in the White House in any capacity, though I understand that Haley is less of a clear-and-present threat to our democracy than Trump. But it is beyond obvious that Haley has done what not many thought could be done: provide a real alternative to the would-be GOP king.