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Nikki Haley says Donald Trump is “welcome to call” about having her campaign for him. Donald Trump says he’d “love to have her go around” and do just that — and privately, supporters of both believe it could be a good idea.
“Nikki Haley should definitely reach out and do everything she can to save this country from the godless commies,” one Trump aide told Semafor.
So what’s the holdup?
The biggest impasse seems to be surrounding who should officially reach out first: It’s unclear whether there’s been formal discussions between the two campaigns in recent weeks about getting Haley out on the trail, but allies of both camps argue that it’s not their principals’ job at this point to initiate next steps.
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The former South Carolina governor and one-time presidential hopeful has had one of the more tumultuous relationships with Trump over the last year, becoming one of his most vocal critics as she ran against him during the primary. When she dropped out in March — as the lone Trump challenger holdout — she did not immediately endorse the former president, instead urging him to “earn” her voters’ support. In May, she conceded that she’d be voting for Trump. And then he survived an assassination attempt, and the tide continued to turn: Trump, who originally did not invite Haley to appear as a speaker at the RNC, extended an invitation. Haley accepted, and gave him a formal endorsement during her speech there.
“There are some Americans who don’t agree with Donald Trump 100% of the time,” Haley said at the time. “My message to them is simple: You don’t have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him.”
Shelby’s view
With a presidential race that’s effectively tied, the logic of a high-profile, moderate surrogate is obvious.
“In general we need a bigger tent not a small one,” one person close to the campaign summed it up to me.
The hold-up, therefore, seems more personal, as both Trump and Haley are strong-willed: The former president feels that he’s already extended an olive branch by telling reporters that he’d love to have her campaign, and Haley correctly notes that this is his campaign to run. So, it’s unclear whether Trump will more formally invite her into the fold.
Room for Disagreement
Not everyone on Trump’s side of the aisle believes Haley would be a positive addition: In fact, one person close to the Trump campaign told Semafor that they believed the opposite, pointing to her recent RNC speech to argue that while having her campaigning for Trump “sounds appealing” on paper, she’s not an effective messenger.
“I think the dynamic of distrust and her not really saying anything will actually not only not have gains, in terms of converting people, but it would also muddle Trump’s message,” the person argued. “It comes at the cost of muddling the message but without being full-throated enough to actually convert people.”
Notable
Some conservative pundits have also been urging Trump publicly to tap Haley as an official surrogate: Outkick’s Tomi Lahren argued recently that Haley “appeals to the folks Trump needs to win over from Kamala [Harris].”
Trump is bringing other non-traditional backers into the fold, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsing him last week and Tulsi Gabbard doing so on Monday.