The Trump administration slapped down Nikki Haley minutes after she issued a mysterious tweet seen as an attempt to insert herself into a nonexistent vacancy for vice president.
“Enough of the false rumors,” she wrote. “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.”
Her words provoked much head-scratching at the White House, where no one had been talking about an alternative to Pence on the Trump 2020 ticket.
In fact, her words only increased speculation about what she might be planning after stepping down from her post as permanent representative to the United Nations last year.
“The only person talking about Nikki Haley as VP is Nikki Haley herself,” is how one senior administration official put it with thinly veiled irritation.
Haley’s future career has been the subject of much speculation since her surprise resignation.
She was well regarded by other diplomats in New York and had managed to leave the Trump orbit with her stock riding high, unlike other officials whose reputations were shredded by their association with a chaotic and unpredictable White House.
Haley, 47, is considered a future candidate for higher office and a potential front-runner for a 2024 White House bid, although she has said she has no plans for a run.
Trump himself repeated his support for Pence on Sunday when asked whether there was any chance of a change on his 2020 ticket.
“I think Mike Pence has been an outstanding VP,” he said.
“I think that he’s been incredible in terms of the love that a lot of people, especially if you look at the evangelicals and so many others, they really have a great respect for our vice president. And so do I.”
