Donald Trump Will ‘Dump’ Mike Pence In 2020 Race According To Analyst: ‘It’s A Certainty’
CNN political analyst Paul Begala made a shocking prediction on Monday, stating that Donald Trump would ditch Vice President Mike Pence in favor of Nikki Haley for his 2020 run. According to The Hill, the long-time political commentator said that the president will “guaranteed” make his announcement on July 16.
“This is not a prediction. It’s a certainty. On Thursday, July 16 — that’s the date the Democrat gives his or her acceptance address — on that day, to interrupt that narrative, Donald Trump will call a press conference at Mar-a-Lago. He’s going to dump Mike Pence and put Nikki Haley on the ticket to try to get those suburban moms,” Begala said.
Begala, who formerly hosted CNN’s Crossfire, was speaking at a panel discussion at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s conference in Washington D.C. There, he claimed that Trump put Pence in charge of the response to the COVID-19 outbreak in order to set the stage to get rid of him.
“You watch. Guaranteed,” Begala predicted. “Trump put Pence in charge of coronavirus to throw him under the bus.”
Trump tapped Pence to lead the task force addressing the potential pandemic, though the move was met with some backlash by people who believe that Pence’s skepticism of evolutionary theory disqualified him from the role.
The move came after the Trump administration faced intense criticism from opponents over the White House’s response to the coronavirus.
Haley — who is a former South Carolina governor, and who was nominated by Trump to serve as the U.S. United Nations ambassador — has denied that she believes she could be the nominee for vice president in 2020.
In November of last year, she told the hosts at Fox & Friends that she believed Pence and Trump made a good match for the Republican ticket. She vehemently denied that she was considering taking Pence’s position on the ballot, saying that she believes he’s the right person to match with Trump and that the current vice president has done a good job in office.
Trump, for his part, has said he believes Pence has been a “great” vice president.
As for Haley, Trump has frequently praised her. He praised the work she has done as U.N. ambassador, and confirmed that she will be a part of his 2020 bid for re-election.
“She is a friend of mine, she endorsed me with the most beautiful endorsement you’ve ever heard. She did a great job at the U.N.,” he said.
