Nikki Haley tells Margaret Brennan of CBS News that she’s let Donald Trump’s campaign know that “I’m on standby,” if he should ever ask her to campaign for her.
Brennan follows up by asking what exactly she means by “standby,” and whether she’s advised him in preparation of his debate, and Haley seems to indicate that her team and Trump’s team have had a dialogue since June, but “there hasn’t been an ask yet.”
Here’s the relevant portion:
“He knows I’m on standby. I talked to him back in June. He’s aware that I’m ready if he ever needs me to do that [campaign for him]….. whatever he decides to do with his campaign, he can do that. But when I called him back in June, I told him I was supportive. I think the teams have talked to each other a little bit, but there hasn’t been an ask of yet. But you know, should he ask, I’m happy to be helpful.”
Harris has been his most muted and apparently reluctant surrogate (and to even call her a surrogate seems like a stretch. Let’s call her a supporter).
And she continues to criticize his campaign, in real-time.
In the same interview, she hammered JD Vance’s 2021 comments on childless, female leaders, disagreed with his support for government or insurance-mandated IVF treatment, and has made it abundantly clear that she supports Donald Trump’s agenda in contrast with Kamala Harris’, without walking back her criticisms of Donald Trump the man.
Moving Forward: Trump is famous to forgive political opponents who bend the knee, but has been less willing to make friendly with Haley – probably as a mirror to her own reluctance.
Just a few weeks ago, Trump was on a downward trajectory in polling, thanks for his terrible standing with female voters, but with Trump’s recent boost in swing states, it’s less clear he needs to deploy Haley as a centrist female voice to potentially reach that cohort.
But Haley appeals to more than just females. She’s centrist-friendly to men and women who don’t like Trump or the Democratic agenda, and beloved by old-guard Republicans who don’t like the party’s embrace of populism.
But recent polling suggests Trump is firming up his numbers with all elements of the GOP and a Sunday NYT/Siena poll found more Americans viewing him as a centrist candidate than Kamala (Read Nate Silver’s good analysis of why her 2020 campaign could cost her this one).
So it seems less likely Trump will deploy Haley unless she offers a full embrace. Which doesn’t seem likely at this point.
2028 implications: The continuing, most fascinating question: Will Trump ask Haley to join him in a second administration? He would only do so if he knew she’d say yes. So would she?
Or is she going to continue to strike this balance between supporting many of his policies, while withholding defense of the man, and staying just close enough to him to quell his anger, but far enough that she can credibly remove herself if he implodes.
Full interview below.
