South Carolina – Following the judge’s indefinite postponement of the Florida classified documents trial earlier this week, Trump will likely have an uninterrupted presidential campaign once the anticipated six-week-long New York hush money case trial ends. The former president and presumptive Republican presidential candidate secured the minimum required number of delegates for winning the GOP nomination in early March after defeating all the other challengers, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
An unexpected problem
With no challengers left for the Republican nomination, Trump continues to win the primaries in each state. As fundraising efforts are expected to take place at a faster pace in the coming weeks, Trump’s presidential campaign is expected to unite the Republican voters and defeat the incumbent, President Joe Biden. For months now, results from surveys show Trump’s constantly leading the race against Biden, an especially important trend in key battleground states that are expected to decide the race once more. And just when everything seemed to be going in the right direction, Trump faces a totally unexpected problem in the name of his last remaining challenger, Nikki Haley, who continues to get decent support on the ballots despite suspending her bid more than months ago.
A nightmare for Trump
As we already reported, the name Nikki Haley is hunting her once-boss and has become a nightmare for Trump’s camp. A notable chunk of GOP primary voters chose Haley. Consistently. And in Indiana on Tuesday, she secured support from about one-fifth of GOP primary voters, revealing dissatisfaction among dedicated Republicans with the former president. The same trend is seen across other states, including the swing states, which are most certainly going to be main points of interest for both Biden and Trump until the November general election. Nikki Haley represents the anti-Trump Republicans, whose support the former president will have a hard time winning.
Haley could help Trump avoid prison, pay his bills
Citing people familiar with the situation, Axios had reported that Trump might consider picking Nikki Haley if convinced she could bolster his presidential bid, help him avoid a potential prison sentence, and cover tens of millions in legal bills if he loses. Haley, the former South Carolina governor and ex-U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, had initially mounted a long-shot challenge to Trump’s frontrunner status in the Republican primaries but withdrew in March. Despite Trump mocking her campaign repeatedly, she acknowledged him as the likely Republican nominee, though she hasn’t publicly endorsed him yet.
Other candidates
A roster of potential vice-presidential candidates already includes North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Senators Marco Rubio, Tim Scott, and J.D. Vance, and Representative Elise Stefanik. Both Burgum and Scott initially vied for the 2024 Republican nomination before conceding. Noem has sparked controversy after confessing in her memoir that she shot a 14-month-old dog for misbehaving.
Not rushing but things are clear
Advisers report that Trump isn’t rushing to select a running mate, noting that the official nomination won’t occur until the Republican convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this July. In the general election on November 5, Trump will face off against Democrat President Joe Biden. Despite this, Trump has compelling reasons to consider Nikki Haley, assuming she is willing to accept the offer—a task made challenging due to her previous declarations of disinterest in the position.
Trump’s brutal response. As usual.
After the story surfaced online, Trump denied reports from Axios that former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was under consideration to be his vice-presidential pick for the November election.
“Nikki Haley is not under consideration for the V.P. slot, but I wish her well!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
