Columnist Ross Rosenfeld is claiming that Nikki Haley will be former President Donald Trump's running mate pick.
Rosenfeld put his argument forth in a piece that he published last week for Newsweek.
This comes after Haley recently dropped out of the 2024 Republican Presidential Primary and after Trump secured the Republican Party's presidential nomination.
If you have been following the primaries at all, then you probably know that a lot of bad blood has developed between Trump and Haley. Rosenfeld began his piece by highlighting this fact.
"Nikki Haley has said that Donald Trump has become significantly 'diminished' in his mental capacity, is 'not qualified' to be president, and is in fact 'unhinged.' She's accused him of cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has said his positions on NATO are 'bone-chilling,' and (following comments Trump made about Haley's deployed husband) that he is 'disgusting,'" Rosenfeld writes.
He continues, "Trump, for his part, has said that Haley has 'gone crazy,' has mocked her race and heritage by making fun of her birth name, and has implied, as he did with former President Barack Obama, that she might not really be American."
For these reasons, you may think it extremely unlikely that Trump will pick Haley to be his vice president. But, Rosenfeld claims that he will.
In his piece, Rosenfeld put forth several reasons why he believes that Trump will pick Haley despite the bad blood.
For one thing, Rosenfeld writes that Trump is "an opportunist, and one who has a history of making alliances that benefit him, even with people he's railed against as if they were his worst enemy." Rosenfeld goes on to provide examples to back this claim up.
Rosenfeld then provides another reason for Trump to pick Haley, which is that "Trump has also shown a tendency to do whatever is politically or financially expedient for him." And, there is no doubt that Trump could use Haley's voters if he wants to win the upcoming election.
Rosenfeld further claims that Haley could be an asset for Trump, considering her campaign and debate skills, that Haley would agree to be Trump's running mate because she is also an opportunist, and that Trump will pick Haley because he does not have great alternatives.
Admittedly, some of these reasons are less convincing than others.
It's hard to say, but it certainly cannot be ruled out, precisely because Trump needs to secure independent voters to stand a better chance of winning the general election and Haley can be a big help in this regard.
According to a recent report from Politico, however, Trump, since Haley dropped out of the primary race, "hasn’t reached out to Haley or some of her top allies at all."
