Donald Trump shuts down rumors about considering Nikki Haley for vice president

Donald
Trump
on
Saturday
made
it
clear
that
former
Republican
presidential
candidate

Nikki
Haley
is
not
on
his
running
mate
shortlist,
quieting
rumors
that
his
campaign
had
been
considering
her
as
an
option.

“Nikki
Haley
is
not
under
consideration
for
the
V.P.
slot,
but
I
wish
her
well!”
the
presumptive
GOP
presidential
nominee
wrote
in
a

Truth
Social
post,
signing
the
message “DJT.”

The
comment
came
several
hours
after

Axios
reported
that
Haley
was
in
the
Trump
campaign’s
vice
president
conversation,
citing
two
anonymous
sources.
Several
media
reports
later
echoed
the
rumors.

The
political
calculus
behind
a
Trump-Haley
ticket
is
plain
to
see.

Haley’s
wealthy
donor
base
could
help
Trump
make
up
his
fundraising
problems,
which
are
compounded
by
legal
fees
related
to
several
ongoing

lawsuits.

Plus,
Haley,
who
has
not
yet
endorsed
the
former
president,
could
help
win
over
Trump-skeptical
Republican
voters,
whom
President

Joe
Biden’s
campaign
has
been
vying
for
since
Haley
dropped
out
of
the
race.

Haley
suspended
her
presidential
campaign
in
March
but
is
still
racking
up
votes,
including
in
Indiana’s
Thursday
primary,
where
she
won
almost
22%
of
the
votes.

Despite
the
apparent
political
advantages,
the
bitter
fight
between
Trump
and
Haley
during
the
Republican
primary
ruled
out
her
vice
presidential
chances.

“She
is
not
presidential
timber,”
Trump
said
of
Haley
at
a
New
Hampshire
rally
in
January. “Now
when
I
say
that,
that
probably
means
that
she’s
not
going
to
be
chosen
as
the
vice
president.”

For
her
part,
Haley
repeatedly
said
she
had
no
interest
in
the
vice
presidential
seat
while
she
was
still
on
the
campaign
trail.

Trump’s
veepstakes
have
been
gathering
more
attention
over
the
past
several
weeks,
including
from

high-dollar
donors
looking
to
push
their
own
recommendations.

Some
names
on
the
list
include
House
Rep. Elise
Stefanik,
R-N.Y.,
former
GOP
presidential
candidate
Sen.
Tim
Scott,
R-S.C.,
Sen.
Marco
Rubio,
R-Fl.
and
North
Dakota
Gov.
Doug
Burgum.

South
Dakota
Gov.
Kristi
Noem
had
also
appeared
to
be
a
VP
frontrunner,
though
her
chances
seem
to
have
weakened
due
to
backlash
about
her
new

memoir,
which
contains
anecdotes
about
her
shooting
and
killing
several
of
her
family’s
farm
pets
and
an
unverified
story
about
meeting
North
Korean
dictator
Kim
Jong
Un.

“I
liked
her
a
lot,”
Trump
said
in
a
Tuesday
interview
with
Spectrum
1
News
Wisconsin. “I
don’t
want
to
comment
on
anybody
on
the
list.
But
she
had
a
rough
couple
of
days.
I
will
say
that.”

As
all
the
VP
hopefuls
help
Trump’s
campaign,
the
former
president
has
dragged
out
making
a
final
call
on
his
would-be
running
mate.