Haley in vice-president race?
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has been urged by outside advisers to consider Nikki Haley as his running mate in 2020 when he seeks re-election, according to a media report.
Trump was dismissive of the idea as reported by The New York Times that said he was questioning the loyalty of his current Vice-president Mike Pence. If Haley is indeed asked and agrees, she would be the first Indian American to run for vicepresident and the first Indian American to become one if the Trump ticket prevails. She will also be the first Asian-american in those roles.
But there are a lot of ifs and buts, Trump himself being one of them. He pushed back strongly in a tweet, calling the NYT article “a phony story”. He complained that the publication did not seek a quote from him, “the only one that would know”.
Trump said he “can’t imagine any president having a better or closer relationship with their vice-president” than him and Pence.
The NYT report said Trump has been asking White House aides and outside advisers if Pence was loyal to him.
Trump likes Haley, and she is really close to the first daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner. She had spoken glowingly about them at the announcement of her exit, with Trump by her side. The NYT report noted that Trump had given Haley an unusually warm send-off, unlike for others who left his administration.
Haley could help him with women voters who have stayed away from him and voted Democratic in the mid-term elections.
But the report also said that Haley is less likely to show the same kind of public loyalty as Pence, noting that she recently poked fun at Trump in a speech at the annual Al Smith Dinner in New York.
Asked at a recent news conference if Pence will be running with him, Trump said, “Well, I haven’t asked him, but I hope so.” And he asked Pence, who was in the audience, “Mike, will you be my running mate? Huh? Stand up, Mike, please. Raise your right hand. No, I’m only kidding. Will you? Thank you, okay good. The answer is yes.”
The mercurial president is not averse to changing his plans, though sitting presidents rarely change their running mates.
MAJOR RESHUFFLE ON THE CARDS: TRUMP
President Trump is thinking of replacing up to five senior advisers, he said an interview aired on Sunday.
“I have three or four or five positions that I’m thinking about. Maybe it’s going to end up being two” he told Fox News on Sunday.