As former President Donald Trump leads the polls, many have pondered who his pick for vice president will be this go round. While he did not hint at who his pick would be, he did tell the audience at a rally in New Hampshire on Friday who it would not be.
As the crowd listened in, Trump made it clear that his opponent, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, would not be the future vice president, stating that she would not put America first and is not “presidential timber.”
“She is OK, but she is not presidential timber. And when I say that, that probably means she is not going to be chosen as the vice president,” Trump said at a Concord rally.
“When you say certain things, it sort of takes them out of play, right?” he continued. “I can’t say, ‘She’s not of the timber to be the vice president’ and then say, ‘Ladies and gentleman, I’m proud to announce that I’ve picked.’”
Trump says Nikki Haley is "not presidential timber":
"That probably means that she's not gonna be chosen as the vice president." pic.twitter.com/FUZj4kwHBC
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) January 20, 2024
In recent months, many speculated that Haley would be a potential vice presidential pick due to her performance in the polls. Some Republicans believed that Haley would have been a good pick due to her balancing out Trump’s weaknesses, according to The Hill.
Several Trump allies have also stated that Haley had no chance of being picked as vice president, including Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon, and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Haley had already stated that she did not want to be nominated for the position, telling a group of voters on Friday that the idea was “off the table.”
In the meantime, Republicans can continue speculating on other possible vice presidential candidates. On Saturday, Trump did hint that while he had a potential pick in mind, it would take him a few months to make a final decision. He stated that the person on the top of his list would not be a surprise.
Trump’s allies have encouraged him to pick a female running mate. Two names that were mentioned are Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R).
