Without a second Watergate, Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley are not going to challenge President Trump, let alone defeat him in a primary. Hopes of a Pence-Haley ticket, or hopes of a Haley-Pence ticket for that matter, are fever dreams fueled by too much wishful, cable television thinking.
That hasn’t quelled this president’s paranoia though. The New York Times reports that Trump has been alarmed by the rising diplomatic star of the former South Carolina governor and even grown suspicious of Haley’s political ambitions. “Republicans close to the White House whisper about the prospect of an alliance between Ms. Haley and Vice President Mike Pence,” the Times reports, possibly to run as a ticket in 2020.
But while that paranoia might be real, the chance that anything like this could happen is not. For one thing, Never Trumpers (or at least some of the more vocal ones) don’t seem disposed to welcome Pence back. Bill Kristol just drew that red line:
That’s a good ticket, except for the Vice President Mike Pence part. https://t.co/ynvUEesigb
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) April 18, 2018
Haley has a bright future among Weekly Standard-types. She is the rare iron lady no one in this administration should mess with (Just ask Larry Kudlow). Pence, on the other hand, has a cloudier outlook. He risks everything with his defense of Trump. And he continues to impress, but mostly by his ability to elude Trump’s worst problems. (Cross check his travel with breaking Stormy Daniels news.)
Pence-Haley or Haley-Pence would be an unholy and unworkable political marriage doomed to failure, like the candidacy of a certain retired CIA officer turned third party candidate who will not be named. The Never Trump wing would question a ticket with Pence at the top (or the bottom) of it. The base would revolt at any challenge to Trump. It would end in unhappiness.
None of this should be taken as a complete criticism of either politician. Pence has done more to moderate this president than most. Haley has become the serious face of U.S. foreign policy. But together on the campaign trail, they would lose.
