Is Nikki Haley Really Running for VP? Bolton Thinks So

(RightWing.org) – Former ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has been flying a kite about a run at the presidency next year. A former senior official in the Trump administration isn’t convinced she means it, though. He thinks she’s trying to boost her chances of being selected as the vice-presidential candidate instead.

On February 16, Haley, a former governor of South Carolina also who served as the US ambassador to the United Nations in 2017 and 2018, released a video to launch her 2024 presidential campaign. She presented herself as part of a new generation of younger Republican leaders and said the GOP needs to “rediscover fiscal responsibility” as well as solve the country’s other issues. She was clearly trying to distance herself from the Trump administration and come over as a reformer — but was that her real aim?

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton doesn’t think so. On February 14, he warned that if Haley ran, she would come under fire from both sides; leftists don’t like her because she served in the Trump administration, and Trump himself won’t like the competition. Bolton said Trump will “have a lot of fun” tearing her slightly inconsistent political loyalties apart.

In fact, Trump has already fired the opening shot in that war, posting a video showing Haley promising not to run against him in 2024. If Haley runs against Trump, she’s most likely going to lose, badly; there’s no doubt which of the two the Republican base prefers.

Trump posts a video of Nikki Haley promising not to run for president in 2024 if Trump runs. pic.twitter.com/uE5JtVF72X

— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) February 1, 2023

However, Bolton doesn’t think Haley has her sights set on the presidency at all. In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” he told host Kristen Welker that he believes she’s actually trying to position herself as a strong candidate for the vice president’s job.

The fight for the 2024 nomination is between Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) — if he runs — and Haley simply isn’t a realistic candidate, but she could potentially bargain away a presidential run in exchange for the #2 slot on the ticket. Is Bolton right? We’ll have to wait and see.