Donald Trump Jr. has expressed strong opposition to the prospect of Nikki Haley being tapped as his father's running mate in the 2024 presidential election, pledging to go to "great lengths" to prevent it.
In a recent interview, Mr. Trump Jr. declared that he “wouldn’t have her” as the vice presidential candidate alongside his father, former President Donald Trump, should he secure the GOP nomination next year.
"I would go to great lengths to make sure that doesn't happen," the former president's son told Newsmax on Dec. 25.
The statement came after the outlet played video footage of Ms. Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a GOP presidential candidate, making critical comments about President Trump during an interview with ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis earlier in the month.
"I don't think he should be president," said Ms. Haley, who expressed concerns about the state of the country and the world, saying, "Donald Trump brings us chaos."
In response to the footage, Mr. Trump Jr. dismissed Ms. Haley's candidacy, accusing her of being a "puppet" of the Washington establishment.
“Nikki Haley wants never-ending wars. She's a puppet of the establishment in Washington, D.C. She's the new favorite candidate of the billionaire class because they want control—no different than academia and Harvard and using, you know, their billions to exercise influence,” Mr. Trump Jr. said.
Taking note of Ms. Haley's rise in the polls, Mr. Trump Jr. predicted that, if chosen as vice president, Ms. Haley would attempt to "destroy Donald Trump from within."
Mr. Trump Jr. said that “she is now the preferred candidate.”
“The second she ever got that, you know, anointment, it would be a disaster of epic proportions. So I would hope that that never is on the table, and I don't think it is,” he added.
An opinion poll released in December by American Research Group shows Ms. Haley rose to within 4 points of President Trump in New Hampshire. President Trump called the poll "fake."
The opposition to Ms. Haley's potential candidacy extends beyond the former president's son, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) asserting earlier this month, "MAGA would revolt if Nikki Haley were to even be given an internship in Trump’s next administration."
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Ms. Greene, herself considered a contender for the vice president role, characterized Ms. Haley as representing the "neocon establishment America last wing of the Republican Party" that the MAGA movement is "absolutely done with.”
In the 2024 GOP landscape, President Trump leads nationally at 62.5 percent, followed by Mr. DeSantis at 11.3 percent and Ms. Haley at 11 percent, per RealClearPolitics.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy trails behind in fourth place with just 4 percent, according to the poll.
While President Trump has kept his running-mate choice under wraps, the DeSantis campaign recently launched a website, "Trump-Nikki 2024," which showcases comments from Ms. Haley and others suggesting her vice presidency preference over the presidency.
The campaign playfully adopts the slogan "Make the Establishment Great Again!" in a nod to President Trump.
“For years, Nikki Haley has wanted to be Donald Trump’s Vice President ... and now she is using her 2024 candidacy to finally make her VP dream a reality by following the lead of the former president as they’ve combined to spend over $30 million against Ron DeSantis, all while she refuses to attack Trump,” the website states.
The website lists quotes from Ms. Haley and asserts that despite political ads attacking her candidacy, she has not criticized President Trump in ads.
"With Trump as the front-runner, why isn’t Haley spending on ads against him? The most logical explanation is that she’s running for second place," the website alleges.
In August, Ms. Haley acknowledged talk that she was running for the vice presidency but dismissed the speculation, telling Politico, "I don't run for second."
The Epoch Times has asked the Haley campaign for comment.
