OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former UN ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley told Fox News anchor Bret Baier on Tuesday that the “choice is clear” for her between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“It is clear. It’s like what I said at the Republican National Convention. You don’t have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him,” she said, going on to note that she has seen her own family struggling financially under the Biden-Harris regime, which saw record inflation for the better part of two years.
After adding that she also worries about her combat vet husband as the world becomes more unstable under the current administration, Haley said: “With Donald Trump, we know what we’re going to get. We lived the economy under Donald Trump. We know how strong he was on the border. We know how energy-dominant we were. And then we also know what our national security looked like.”
She added: “And so, I don’t agree with Trump 100 percent of the time, but I don’t agree with Kamala Harris on anything.”
WATCH:
Nikki Haley: ‘Choice is clear – you don’t have to agree with Trump all the time’ but he’s hella better than Harris. pic.twitter.com/Cl9ufGjd3J
— USA Features Media (@UsaFeatures) October 30, 2024
Communications consultant Frank Luntz said last week that a joint campaign appearance by Trump’s former top UN diplomat will help the latter win swing voters, claiming that the demographic “will listen to her.”
“Trump has said that Nikki Haley, once his nemesis in the primaries, could join him on the trail. She’s done a robocall for him. She’s recorded robocalls on his behalf,” observed CNN’s Brianna Keilar before asking, “But if he — if the Trump campaign deploys her, what kind of voters could that help with? And where do you think that they’ll use her?”
“It will help with younger women because Trump is doing so well among older men. It’ll help in these swing states. And Nikki Haley brings interest, brings attention among independents, among swing voters. There aren’t many left, but what is left, they will listen to her,” answered Luntz. “And it will be a surprise because she has been so challenging of him, so negative towards him up to now. It’s a very smart strategy.”
“But in the end,” he concluded, “it’s not going to be the surrogates. It’s going to be what they [the candidates] say and how they say it in the last 48 hours that will determine these final votes. The key for Haley [Harris] is absolutely turnout, 18 to 29 women. The key for Donald Trump is absolutely union votes, young African-American men, and Latinos. It’s too close to call right now. Who does better with those groups is the one who gets elected.”
WATCH:
.@FrankLuntz on Nikki Haley joining Trump on the campaign trail.
“Nikki Haley brings interest, brings attention among independents, among swing-voters. There aren’t many left but what is left they will listen to her and it will be a surprise because she has been so challenging… pic.twitter.com/hWQJ8FjnEY
— Martin Walsh (@MWalshUS) October 23, 2024
“The details and dates for the joint appearance haven’t been fully worked out, but the likeliest scenario would put the two together at a town hall toward the end of the month, perhaps involving Fox News personality Sean Hannity, the sources said,” The Bulwark reported.
A well-known Republican consultant familiar with discussions in Trump’s campaign said Haley has “already exceeded expectations helping us out.”
“There’s no reason to doubt her loyalty and willingness to help,” the source said. “Now they just have to get the schedules lined up.”
