LOS ANGELES.–Publisher of the Harvard CAP/Harris poll, 70-year-old Mark Penn believes that 77-year-old President Donald Trump must bury the hatchet and offer the vice president job to 51-year-old former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley. Haley has walked a fine line since losing badly in Iowa and New Hamphire, pointing out some of Trump’s recent gaffes, hoping to gain traction with voters. But all signs point to Haley fairing even worse in her home state of South Carolina Feb. 24. Haley’s best hope for turning things around was New Hampshire, where the Granite State’s fiercely independent streak but, more importantly, the fact they let Democrats and independents vote in the primary helped her cause. Losing New Hampshire by 12%, Haley would have lost by 25% had Democrats and independents not voted. So when it comes to facing her home state South Carolina, she could avoid the embarrassment by striking a deal with Trump to serve has his Vice President.
Trump can be vindictive of anyone that criticizes him. But when it comes to Haley, Penn might be right that Trump needs crossover Democrats, independents, and, yes, never-Trump Republicans, something Trump calls RINOs, Republican in Name Only. Haley fits in that category because her donors are largely Democrats and never-Trumpers hoping, against all odds, that Haley could gain traction in the 2024 race. New Hampshire gave the media something to crow about that Trump didn’t appear to get the landslide win in New Hampshire. Once voters figured out that Democrats were allowed to vote in the New Hampshire Primary, it made sense that Trump did actually win by a landslide. When it comes to Haley saving face, she would be well-advised for her political future to cut a deal as Trump’s VP and spare herself the embarrassment in her home state.
Penn thinks that Trump has two paths to the White House to avoid another defeat liked 2020. Either pick Haley or Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the only Black in the U.S. Senate, certainly in the Republican Party. “Trump has a problem, whi is the Nikki Haley voters,” Penn told Politico. “A large percentage of them are ‘never-Trump’ . . . Does Trump have a way of consolidating them? It seems to me that Trump almost has to pick her as vice president . . . He could do her, or he could do Tim Scott . . She would get that women’s Republican vote in the suburbs overwhelmingly. And that would be the end of the election,” Penn said. Penn raises some inescapable problems to the Trump nomination that there are sizable numbers of Republicans that don’t like his style. Putting Haley on the ticket could solve some undeniable problems for the general election.
When comparing what Haley or Scott would do for Trump, there’s no comparison. Republicans would like keep Scott in the Senate where he serves as another GOP vote at a time where Republicans face an already narrow minority. Scott offers only a potential to capture more Black voters but certainly not rank-and-file Blacks that tend to voter Democrat. Rev. Al Sharpton reacted harshly to Scott appearing Jan. 23 on Trump’s New Hampshire victory stage, watching Scott, in Sharpton’s mind, ingratiate himself to Trump. Actually, Scott is secure enough in himself to play around with Trump, telling him “he just loves him,” doesn’t hate Haley. Trump reminded Scott that Haley picked him to serve as interim Senator, replacing Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) who resigned to become Executive Director of the conservative Heritage Foundations. Scott was reelected in 2022.
When it comes to Haley, s he has far greater potential to help Trump in the general election than Scott. Scott would bring some conservative African Americans into the fold for Trump but it’s a small percentage of the vote. Haley brings, as Penn says, the soccer mom vote, in suburbia, where college age women find Trump onerous but would be willing to vote for him if Haley were on the ticket. “She is OK, but she is not presidential timber. An whei I say that, that probably means she is not going to be chosen as vice president,” Trump said at a rally in Concord, New Hampshire. Trump may wish to reconsider his statements about Haley who has the potential of bringing in the post-Roe v. Wade women’s vote. Today’s $83 million judgment against him by former columnist E. Jean Carroll gives Trump another black eye with women, all the more reason to pick Haley.
Politics makes strange bedfellows, requiring candidates to be practical when pick vice presidents for national election. Former President Ronald Reagan wasn’t to keen on former President George. H.W. Bush in 1980. Bush once said Reagan practices “Voodoo Economics,” something former President Jimmy Carter used in the 1980 campaign. But somehow Reagan go over his differences and picked Bush as his running mate. While Haley called Trump “totally unhinged” today, she needs to keep her options open, especially as she faces a humiliating defeat Feb. 24 in South Carolina. Trump and Haley needs to hold their tongues and consider what’s most important in 2024. Getting rid of Biden should be the GOP’s top priority. Haley could bring the soccer mom’s vote to the table, making her a valuable asset in going up against Biden in the Fall.
About the Author
John M. Curtis write politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
