Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley gave her clearest answer yet to whether she would accept an invitation to join former President Trump’s ticket, claiming Friday that “It’s done.”
Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, said people could no longer argue she launched her bid just to be vice president. Her comments come as both candidates are vying for Palmetto State voters ahead of Saturday’s GOP primary.
“We’re gonna see what happens tomorrow. But look, the problem when people say, “Why is she doing this? Why is she doing that?” At first, they were like, “She’s doing this because she wants to be vice president.” I think we’ve pretty much settled that,” she told Fox News anchor Bret Baier, amid a campaign stop in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. “I’ve said it for months, it’s done.”
“I wouldn’t be doing this if I was worried about a political future,” she added. “I would’ve gotten out already. I’m doing this trying to wake up our country.”
Trump also told voters in South Carolina earlier this month that he would “never” pick Haley to be his running mate.
“You’re never going to have her, and I don’t think anybody is very devastated,” he said at the time, according to local reporting.
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When asked Friday whether she would take Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) up on his offer to launch a unity ticket against Trump and President Biden, Haley didn’t seem open to the idea.
“I’m running as a Republican,” she answered. “I’m running trying to wake people up that, if they nominate Donald Trump in this primary, we will lose a general election.”
Earlier in the interview, Baier asked Haley why the people in her home state didn’t seem to be enthused by her bid, but instead, have supported Trump — the likely GOP nominee — in most polls.
“This is not about who should be the nominee,” she responded “This is about who should be the nominee that can win a general election. Because, nothing gets fixed if we lose. And that’s what this is all about.”
“We have a country to save. And in order to save her, we gotta win a general election.” Haley added.
The South Carolina polling index from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ shows Trump leading Haley by at least 30 points — 63.8 percent to 33.1 percent.
Still, Haley — who has promised to remain in the race until Super Tuesday, regardless of Saturday’s results — said the voters want someone new. She went on to criticize Trump and Biden again over their age, claiming a majority of Americans say they are too old to run.
“America can do better than this,” she argued.
“We need a young generation person that can put in eight years of hard work, day and night, to get us back on track with no vendettas, no drama,” Haley added. “Just results for the American people.”