Nikki Haley Suggests She Won’t Endorse Trump, but She’s a Shameless Republican, So Who Knows

In recent months, Nikki Haley has called Donald Trump “unhinged”; implied he’s a decrepit old fool; blasted him for claiming the 2020 election was stolen; expressed uncertainty that he’d abide by the Constitution the next time around; and proclaimed that the country is committing “suicide” by voting for him. Given all that, you might think the former South Carolina governor would be emphatic in declaring that, in the very likely event Trump becomes the GOP nominee, she won’t endorse his candidacy for office. But apparently, at this juncture, she’s only comfortable suggesting as much—and leaving the door open to back the guy.

Speaking on Meet the Press over the weekend, Haley told host Kristen Welker that while she previously took the Republican National Committee pledge to support the eventual nominee, she no longer feels beholden to that promise because “the RNC is now not the same RNC; now it’s Trump’s daughter-in-law.” (If you missed it, the ex-president effectively pushed out RNC chair Ronna McDaniel, who is likely to be replaced by North Carolina GOP chair Michael Whatley and Eric Trump’s wife, Lara.) Yet when pressed by Welker to confirm that she was saying she didn’t believe she was “bound by that pledge,“ Haley’s response was an equivocal: “No, I think I’ll make what decision I want to make, but that’s not something I’m thinking about.”

Her answer was not dissimilar to the one she gave last month while appearing on another network news program: “I’m running against him because I don’t think he should be president. The last thing on my mind is who I’m going to support. The only thing on my mind is how we’re going to win this.”

Of course, Haley is not expected “to win this,” and while this week’s Super Tuesday elections won‘t make things official, they are expected to effectively be the final nail in the coffin for the ex-governor’s campaign.* At which point she’ll have lots of free time to think about the candidate she will support in the general election. And despite what she said on Meet the Press, there’s clearly still a distinct possibility that Haley will endorse Trump, because (1) Republicans are largely shameless, especially when it comes to falling in line re: Trump, and (2) she’s already laid the groundwork to claim she’s always believed Joe Biden somehow poses a bigger threat to the country than the guy who incited an actual coup attempt. During the same interview in which she said voting for Trump “is like suicide for our country,” Haley also declared: “I have serious concerns about Donald Trump. I have more serious concerns about Joe Biden.”

*Unless she surprises everyone and makes a run for the White House with No Labels, which is highly unlikely. “All the talk about the independent, No Labels, all that—I haven’t talked to anybody about that,” she told reporters last week. “I know that they have sent smoke signals that they want me to talk to them, but I’m a Republican.”

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