Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is not running for “second,” making that clear during an interview published Thursday amid speculation that she is running for president in hopes of being elevated to the position of vice president, should former President Donald Trump — the GOP frontrunner — or someone else become the nominee.
“I think everybody that says, ‘She’s doing this to be vice president,’ needs to understand I don’t run for second,” Haley said, according to Politico, making her intentions clear.
“That’s something that I hear all the time, and I’ll tell you that, look, we have a country to save, and I don’t trust anybody else to do it,” she continued.
However, recent polls indicate an uphill battle for the presidential hopeful. The latest weekly Morning Consult survey showed Haley in the single digits with three percent support, tying with South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. All three of them came 54 points behind Trump, who leads his closest challenger by 41 points.
2024 National Republican Primary
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) August 15, 2023
• Trump — 57% (+41)
• DeSantis — 16%
• Ramaswamy — 9%
• Pence — 7%
• Haley — 3
• Christie — 3%
• Scott — 3%
• Hutchinson — 1%
• Burgum — 1%
• Suarez — 1%
Morning Consult | 3,064 RV | 08/11-13https://t.co/l71qO5QJDL pic.twitter.com/a5mUa01mnA
A recent Emerson College poll found Haley tying with North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for fifth place in New Hampshire, with four percent support each, and a recent I&I/TIPP Poll found Haley coming in fifth place again with four percent support.
New Hampshire 2024: Trump holds 40-point lead for Republican Nomination
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) August 15, 2023
Trump — 49% (+40)
Christie — 9%
DeSantis — 8%
Scott — 6%
Burgum — 4%
Haley — 4%
Ramaswamy — 3%
Johnson — 2%
Pence — 1%
Hurd — 1%
Emerson (A-) | RVs | 08/09-11https://t.co/w43LyS2AwD pic.twitter.com/nPiu72invS
TIPP Poll: Trump holds 45-point lead for Republican Nomination
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) August 14, 2023
• Trump — 57% (+2 from June)
• DeSantis — 12% (-7)
• Ramaswamy — 8% (+6)
• Pence — 5% (-1)
• Haley — 4% (-1)
• Scott — 2% (-1)
TIPP (A-) | August 2-4 | n=529https://t.co/jueJPGlCM6 pic.twitter.com/U1bIqARmU9
Haley is performing slightly better in South Carolina but still finds herself tied with Scott for third place with 11 percent support.
2024 South Carolina Republican Primary
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) August 13, 2023
Trump 45% (+4 from June)
DeSantis 13% (-5)
Scott 11% (+1)
Haley 11% (-1)
Christie 7% (+2)
Ramaswamy 5% (+3)
Pence 2% (=)
Hutchinson 1% (-1)
Burgum 1% (=)@NatPubAffairs | 846 LV | 08/07-09https://t.co/o5i2RhcFob
The presidential hopeful also made it clear in the Politico interview that if she does make it to the White House, it will be based on her merits — not her gender.
“Do I happen to be a woman? Yes. Do I happen to be Indian? Yes. Do I happen to be a military spouse? Yes. Do I happen to be a mom? Yes. All those things are great,” Haley said, predicting that if she becomes the first female president, “It won’t be because I’m a woman. It’ll be because … I’m the right person for the job.”
When asked in late July — prior to his latest indictment — if she would pardon Trump if she were in the White House, Haley said she would consider doing so in order to end the division.
