Pence responds to Haley tweet: I’m looking forward to running with Trump in 2020

Vice President Mike Pence downplayed speculation about the 2020 GOP ticket that had been spurred by a tweet from former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, saying in an interview airing Tuesday he fully expects to be running for reelection with President Trump.

“What I can tell you is that Nikki Haley and I are very close friends. We are, both of us, completely focused on reelecting this team in 2020,” Pence said in an interview with Eric Bolling of BlazeTV.

{mosads}Pence was asked about a tweet from the former ambassador to the United Nations in which she referenced unspecified “false rumors” and voiced “complete support” for the vice president. Haley has long been rumored as a future candidate for higher office.

“Nikki did a tremendous job as our ambassador to the United Nations, and I just know she’s going to be out there campaigning shoulder-to-shoulder with me and the president as we carry this team and this ticket forward to victory in 2020,” Pence said.

Asked if Trump has personally assured him he will remain on the ticket, Pence pointed to a press conference last November in which the president asked the vice president to serve as his running mate in 2020.

“We’ve talked about it and I’m really looking forward to campaigning shoulder-to-shoulder with this president,” Pence told BlazeTV. “I’m honored to serve as his vice president and it’s going to be a great honor for me to be out there campaigning as his running mate in 2020.”

“I’m looking forward to running with this president and winning in 2020,” he added.

Haley’s tweet last week renewed speculation over a possible shake-up atop the Republican ticket heading into the next election. 

“Enough of the false rumors. Vice President Pence has been a dear friend of mine for years. He has been a loyal and trustworthy VP to the President. He has my complete support,” Haley tweeted.

The Wall Street Journal argued in a June column that Trump should swap Pence for Haley because she may help the president win over more female voters.

But the president’s allies have rallied around Pence. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway has emphasized that Pence will be on the ticket, and a Trump campaign spokesman said in response to Haley’s tweet that Pence will be “a key asset as President Trump’s running mate in 2020.”

Trump has been asked at various points in recent months about whether he intends to drop Pence for another vice presidential candidate, and each time has expressed certainty that the ticket will not change.

The president said in a June interview with “Meet the Press” that Pence would “100 percent” be his running mate in 2020, and that same month told Fox Business Network that Haley has other roles to play in his campaign.