Donald Trump’s steadily sinking poll numbers have given rise to new reports that the president may look to drop Vice President Mike Pence from the ticket in 2020 and replace him with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
As Oregon Live reported, there are growing rumors in Republican political circles that Trump is looking for a reason to drop the former Indiana governor from his ticket. Trump is apparently worried about his low approval ratings and believes that Haley may help give him a bigger boost in next year’s election. Even though Trump has previously responded to the rumors by saying he remains 100 percent committed to Pence, the speculation has again grown so rampant that on Thursday, Haley took to Twitter to dispel the reports she could be joining Trump’s ticket.
“Enough of the false rumors,” she tweeted . “Vice President Pence has been a dear friend of mine for years. He has been a loyal and trustworthy VP to the President. He has my complete support.”
This is not the first time that rumors have hinted at Donald Trump dropping his support for Mike Pence. Back in June, Trump’s refusal to endorse Pence running for a hypothetical term in 2024 led to rumors that Donald Trump Jr. may be planning a run of his own after his father leaves office.
As The Inquisitr noted, Trump demurred when asked by reporters if he would back Pence for his own run at the White House, saying that both are focused first on winning in 2020. But it did little to slow the rumors that the president’s eldest son is looking to dip his toe into politics.
There have already been some signs that Donald Trump Jr. may be exploring a political career. There had been rumors that he was looking at a run for New York City mayor, which Trump Jr. shot down, and others that he had his eyes set on higher office. As Raw Story noted, his younger brother, Eric Trump, had been asked in an interview if Don Jr. had political aspirations, and Eric noted that he could see a Trump family dynasty.
What is the deal with that weird Nikki Haley VP tweet? | Analysis by CNN’s Chris Cillizza https://t.co/DDBx8oygCl pic.twitter.com/rHoRkpVufu
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 22, 2019
Nikki Haley would be seen as an unusual pick for a running mate for Trump, as the former U.N. Ambassador has not shied away from publicly splitting from the president on controversial issues. As The State noted, she recently spoke out against Trump after the president slammed a majority-black congressional district as a “rat and rodent infested mess.”
