Former President Donald Trump's popularity has always been largely due to his ability to hear and connect with his supporters.
But if reports are true, Trump may be being a little tone-deaf in his most recent consideration for a potential running mate, given that she seems disconnected from the views and interests of his staunchest backers.
According to CBS News, which cited sources "familiar with the conversations' Trump has been picking the brains of allies about adding former United nations Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to the ticket as his vice presidential nominee if he secures the 2024 Republican nomination.
According to Politico, Trump has been asking advisers what they think of Haley.
Certain Republican figures believe Haley could strengthen the 2024 ticket by broadening Trump's appeal beyond his diehard MAGA supporters.
Speaking recently at The New York Times DealBook Summit, former House speaker Kevin McCarthy argued that the ideal running mate selection should bring additional voters into Trump's coalition rather than alienate his existing base.
In his view, picking Haley could be an "addition, not subtraction."
But key conservative personalities, like former chief strategist Steve Bannon, Donald Trump Jr., former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, and longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone have all explicitly warned against putting Haley on the ticket. They argue she does not represent the "America first" agenda that animates Trump's base, Politico reported.
During a live interview from Turning Point USA's AmericaFest earlier this week, Carlson said that he would not support a Trump-Haley ticket.
Check out the video below:
"I would not only not vote for that ticket, I would advocate against it as strongly as I could," Carlson said.
"That's just poison," Carlson continued.
"I mean, here's someone who's actively opposed to the interests of the country I grew up in, who endorsed the BLM riots. And who is not left but is neoliberal in the darkest, most ... nihilistic way, and has no real popular support, is a creature of the oligarchs. So yeah, that would be – that would be reason to oppose the ticket," he continued.
It's important to point out here that Carlson saying Haley "endorsed" the Black Lives Matter rioting that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 could be considered a stretch.
On May 30, 2020, Haley published a post on the social media platform then known as Twitter where she wrote that: "It’s important to understand that the death of George Floyd was personal and painful for many. In order to heal, it needs to be personal and painful for everyone."
It's a pretty big jump to take those words to mean Haley supported burning American cities to the ground.
But it wasn't the first time Carlson had made the accusation. He used the same wording in an episode of "Tucker Carlson Tonight" when he was still appearing on Fox News.
https://twitter.com/MAGAIncWarRoom/status/1620967024511037440?
"I just can't imagine a world where that could happen-- that would be so crazy," Carlson said.
And he's far from the only conservative Republican who see a bigger downside to Haley than any kind of boost she could potentially bring.
https://twitter.com/MattRobert42011/status/1736967720317411777?
Speculation about Trump choosing Haley as his running mate has grown recently as Haley has risen in Republican primary polls. According to a CBS/YouGov poll from Dec. 8-15, she is in second place behind Trump in among New Hampshire voters but trailing both Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in Iowa.
According to the most recent RealClearPolitics average of polls, she is just behind DeSantis, though both are well behind Trump.
While establishment Republicans like McCarthy may see Haley as a wise pick to broaden Trump's appeal, the former president's political formula, Trump's "secret sauce," has always been rooted in an undiluted conservative message.
Choosing a running mate who disillusions or fails to energize "America first" supporters to come out and vote could end up backfiring by watering down the very movement he created.
via wnd