Have you ever seen a politician who can’t get over losing a primary election continue to lash out at the candidate who defeated him or her? Or better yet, when the sore loser continues to trash the winner without showing it? If not, then welcome to the latest episode of Nikki Can’t Get Over It.
Yes, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley showed on Sunday’s broadcast of “Face the Nation” on CBS to make sure viewers knew that she “would not have run for president” if she thought former President Donald Trump was a “great candidate.”
To be clear, Haley added, “I ran because I thought I could do better.”
Trump is the Republican presidential nominee for 2024, but Haley is not. Given this fact, CBS anchor Margaret Brennan asked the former candidate if she would be willing to campaign for Trump in the final weeks of the campaign.
You said you were on standby. In other words, you were not asked to campaign. Are you advising him on his debate preparation or are you speaking with the campaign team?
Haley said (imitation?) that she would “be happy to help” if Trump wanted her to join the campaign.
I’m not, and that’s his decision. He can – you know, whatever he wants to do with his campaign, he can do it. But when I called him back in June, I told him I supported him. I think the teams have spoken a little bit, but there’s been no request yet. But you know, if he asks, I’m cheerful to lend a hand.
How is that, now that Nikki has publicly stated that she did not think Trump was a “great candidate” and believes she would have done “a better job”?
Brennan could not suppress her Trump Derangement Syndrome and spoke about the former president’s alleged “sexual assault” on writer E. Jean Carroll. (Trump is trying to Judgment of $5 million find him guilty of sexual abuse and defamation of the author.) Emphasis mine:
So the things you have listed are concrete political issues. Right here in New York, Donald Trump has just finished a press conference in which three-quarters of the speech was devoted to complaints related to his previous conviction for alleged sexual assault..
I know that during your campaign you said that you had no real reason to question the jury’s findings in the defamation trial of E. Jean Carroll.
I am not asking you about the details of the case, but if that is the focus of a press conference for a presidential candidate, is this the best apply of his time and what message will he be sending to female voters if he has to go through this again?
A challenging question, Margaret?
Haley said the focus should be on policy, but Brennan insisted: “But he is the candidate.”
No, and I’ve always said that if I thought Biden or Trump were great candidates, I wouldn’t have run for president. I ran because I thought I could do a better job.
Brennan again: “They don’t think he’s a good candidate.”
Haley then went Haley, I try to have both.
I think he’s the Republican nominee, and I think he should be put up against Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee. For me, it’s not a question. Do I agree with his style? Do I agree with his approach? Do I agree with his communication? No. When I look at the policies and how they affect my family and how I think they’re going to affect the country, I go back and look at the differences.
I mean, those are the candidates that we have available. If you look at Kamala Harris, it’s pretty remarkable. She never had a debate, she never had a primary, she never had anyone vote for her, and they basically took her and put her back on the stage within 48 hours, and she was this whole recent candidate. But the reality is she has a track record. The administration has a track record.
Trump has a track record. Neither of them is perfect, neither of them is ideal. But when I look at who is who, I don’t agree with Trump on everything, but I agree with him on a lot of policy. I don’t know if I agree with Harris on a lot of policy at all. And so I think when women go to vote, they’re going to look at how does this affect my family. How does this affect our finances? How does this affect security and national order, and which of them do we choose?
As a voter, I chose Trump because I saw what his policies did. I know our economy was better under Trump. I know our national security was better under Trump. I know our energy was dominant under Trump, and I know he’s probably the best candidate to get that back under control if we want to figure out how to get that back under control.
In other words, it almost sounds like Haley sees Trump as the lesser of two evils.
“Unity”: Nikki Haley takes the RNC stage with this outstanding message
Nikki Haley says she will vote for Trump – will her voters do the same?
Do I think Nikki will get a call from Trump telling her to campaign? No. But then again, anything is possible in this bizarre presidential election season.
Or should I say that nothing would surprise me? Yes, let’s stick with that.
