Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-S.C.) decision to back former President Trump for the GOP nomination over fellow South Carolina politician Nikki Haley got his attention.
Mulvaney joined “The Hill on NewsNation” host Blake Burman to discuss “Mick’s Picks,” or the potential candidates that Trump may choose as his running mate. Among them, was Scott, who the former Trump official had previously ruled out.
“You know, Blake, the last couple weeks I have been on the show talking about folks who might be on the vice-presidential list,” he said. “I always said that Tim Scott would be off the list, but his move last week to endorse Trump, before the South Carolina primary really, really got my attention.”
Scott, who dropped out of the GOP primary in November, formally endorsed Trump last week, saying “we need a president who will unite our country.” Haley’s allies quickly criticized the Palmetto State senator, noting that she appointed him to his Senate position in 2012 when she was governor.
“As I mentioned before, I talked to Tim, he hold me why he did that. But again, he had the perfect excuse to stay neutral in that race until after South Carolina, Nikki Haley, after all, literally gave him a Senate seat,” Mulvaney said. “So this is an affirmative move on his part, and I think you have to sort of put him back on the list.”
Mulvaney, who previously represented South Carolina in the House, continued, saying the list of potential vice presidential candidates signals Trump is “looking to sort of broaden his appeal.” Other potential running mates include Trump’s former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), he argued.
“Look at that list. There’s no white males,” he added. “There’s two women and two African American males.”
He argued that Carson might be his top choice “because he’s the lowest profile.” Mulvaney said the former president would likely prefer someone like Carson.
As Trump and Haley barrel toward the Feb. 24 primary in South Carolina, Mulvaney said he thinks the chances her chances of becoming vice president are slim.
Following the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, both handed to the former President, Haley has doubled down and continued her fight against Trump, who has been unrelenting in his attacks against her.
“This is going to get really, really nasty if it goes the next four weeks,” he said. “While Donald Trump will always forgive, he never forgets and if this goes on for two or three or four more weeks, it’s gonna be really nasty and hard to come back from that.”
Trump also warned those who donate to Haley’s campaign that they will be “permanently barred from the MAGA camp.”
The Hill and NewsNation are both owned by Nexstar Media Group.