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Buried within the recent fawning press coverage (including our coverage) of former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley‘s national ascendancy is a familiar undercurrent – a lingering, firmly rooted distrust of her presidential candidacy that could soon begin acting as an anchor on her aspirations.
Gravitational forces are at work … creating a tractor beam of truth that could take hold of Haley at the very moment she seems to have succeeded in carving out a potential path to victory in the upcoming GOP primary, now less than three weeks from seeing its first votes cast.
Recent coverage of Haley’s rise has focused on the apparent ceiling of support that exists for former U.S. president Donald Trump, who remains the runaway frontrunner to capture the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
But there is also a ceiling to Haley’s support … and its origins (which we explored in this article more than three years ago) have not been forgotten by two of Trump’s most influential supporters.
Tucker Carlson – who is supporting Trump’s 2024 candidacy – is arguably the most influential conservative commentator in America. He also now opines from a platform invested in turning him loose as opposed to trying to muzzle him.
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Carlson’s view on Haley? He’s not a fan. In fact, he’s so adamantly opposed to her he would actually reject any ticket that included her – including a Trump ticket.
“I would not only not vote for that ticket, I would advocate against it as strongly as I could,” Carlson told conservative commentator Tim Pool earlier this month, adding that Trump choosing Haley “would be reason to oppose the ticket.”
Carlson added Haley was “poison,” a “creature of the oligarchs” and a “neoliberal in the darkest, most nihilistic way.”
Is he wrong? No. I noted in a post earlier this year, politicians like Haley and U.S. senator Lindsey Graham “have a costly lust for spending other people’s blood and treasure to pad the pockets of their wealthy military donors.”
Or, pockets closer to home …
As presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy put it bluntly during a GOP presidential debate earlier this month, “this is a woman who will send your kids to die so she can buy a bigger house.”
Carlson and Ramaswamy aren’t the only voices heeded by Trump who are weighing in – aggressively – against Haley.
Donald Trump Jr. made it clear he would not support Haley as vice president – and that he would push his father not to select her.
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RELATED | NIKKI HALEY’S SURGE SETS UP SOUTH CAROLINA SHOWDOWN
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“I wouldn’t have her,” Trump Jr. told conservative host Eric Bolling of Newsmax over the Christmas holiday. “I would go to great lengths to make sure that that doesn’t happen.”
“Nikki Haley wants never-ending wars,” Trump Jr. added. “She’s a puppet of the establishment in Washington, D.C. She’s the new favorite candidate of the billionaire class … because they want control. They want someone they can control.”
“All you’d get from her is never-ending wars,” Trump Jr. continued. “All you’d get is her … trying to destroy Donald Trump from within forever. The second she ever got that anointment it would be a disaster of epic proportion so I would hope that that never is on the table and I don’t think it is.”
If Haley is indeed “out,” though … who is “in?”
Trump has reportedly been eyeing several female leaders as potential vice presidential choices – including South Dakota governor Kristi Noem and South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace. Noem has been linked to a sex scandal involving one of Trump’s top aides, however, while Mace has recently drawn the fury of the GOP establishment over her vote against former U.S. speaker Kevin McCarthy.
While it’s unclear whom Trump would tap for No. 2 assuming he wins the nomination … it’s becoming clear that choosing Haley, arguably the most sensible choice from a purely political standpoint, is a non-starter among some of his most important allies.
UPDATE: More on this “burgeoning movement” to keep Nikki Haley off the 2024 ticket …
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina and before that he was a bass guitarist and dive bar bouncer. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven (soon to be eight) children.
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3 comments
Tucker, and Melania, would like himself to be in the VP slot.
“We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can’t wait.”
“I hate him passionately. … I can’t handle much more of this,”
The same Tucker Carson who texted these words while pretending to love trump?
Republicans have the memory of a gnat.
I hope Trump appoints her dogcatcher in Lee County