Former President Donald Trump called Nikki Haley a ‘capable person’ who would be part of his ‘team’ in his first comments since her surprise revelation that she will vote for him.
On a day when Trump sought to demonstrate the expansion of his political coalition at a rally in the Bronx, Trump talked up Haley, who he had ridiculed during the campaign as ‘bird brain.’
‘Well I think she’s going to be on our team because we have a lot of the same ideas, the same thoughts,’ Trump told News 12.
‘I appreciated what she said. You know, we had a nasty campaign. It was pretty nasty. But she’s a very capable person, and I’m sure she’s going to be on our team in some form. Absolutely,’ Trump said.
Trump spoke on a day he touted ‘unity’ in the party, with almost all of his primary rivals falling in line behind him, despite some of them launching harsh critiques about his policy vision and his character.
Teambuilding exercise: Former President Donald Trump said of Nikki Haley Thursday, ”Well I think she’s going to be on our team’
That includes Haley’s past comments ripping politicians who bend to pressure.
‘Many of the same politicians who now publicly embrace Trump privately dread him,’ she said in Greenville, South Carolina in February. ‘They know what a disaster he’s been and will continue to be for our party. They’re just too afraid to say it out loud.’
‘Well I’m not afraid to say the hard truths out loud. I feel no need to kiss the ring. I have no fear of Trump’s retribution. I’m not looking for anything from him.’
Trump did not mention Haley when asked to name three top picks to be his running mate, although he did name other former critics.
‘We have so many, I don’t want to do that,’ Trump said, brushing off the question at first. He mentioned Dr. Ben Carson, Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. J.D. Vance, and Rep. Elise Stefanik
‘Elise is doing a fantastic job. But I could go on for quite a long time. We have many people that would do a really fantastic job.’
Halely announced Wednesday she would vote for Trump. She said in February that ‘I feel no need to kiss the ring’
Trump says he plans to win New York, and has seen increased poll support among black and hispanic voters compared to 2016
Trump had ridiculed Carson back in 2016 over his origin story, then put him in the cabinet. He insulted Rubio as ‘little Marco’ when they clashed. ‘My god what an idiot,’ Vance tweeted in 2016, although he is now a loyal supporter who has been lining up fundraising events for Trump in Silicon Valley. Stefanik once blasted Trump’s comments about Muslims in the 2016 campaign, but this week filed an ethics complaint against the judge overseeing the Stormy Daniels trial.
Haley was Trump’s last 2024 GOP rival standing, and she has drawn millions of ‘zombie’ votes even after dropping out of the race, giving Trump an incentive to try to court her supporters.
She urged him to do so Wednesday in her remarks to the Hudson Institute, which she herself posted later.
‘I don’t know what Nikki’s calculations are. I hope she’s not thinking of being his vice president,’ former UN Ambassador John Bolton, who revealed himself as a Trump critic in book after he left the administration, told CNN.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who denounced Trump’s actions on January 6 and ended his own presidential campaign before Iowa, has said he won’t endorse Trump but refused to answer questions about whether he’d vote for him.
Trump stuck to his message in an interview Thursday with Fox News. ‘I appreciate what she said,’ Trump said, while saying he was unifying the party.
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