By AMHERST, N.H. — Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley said Friday that being vice president is “off the table,” her sharpest rejection so far of the notion that she could be former president Donald Trump’s running mate if he ultimately wins the Republican presidential nomination.
During a campaign stop at a diner in New Hampshire, a voter asked Haley if she would vow not to be Trump’s vice president.
“I have said from the very beginning I don’t play for second, I don’t want to be anybody’s vice president. That is off the table,” Haley told the voter, in remarks first reported by Politico and confirmed in a recording obtained by The Washington Post.
“I have always said that. That is a game they play that I’m not going to play. I don’t want to be vice president,” Haley added.
Haley, who has gained momentum in recent weeks but continues to trail Trump in New Hampshire polls, has previously more vaguely stated that she is not “playing for second.”
In campaign stops in the Granite State on Friday — just days before the state’s primary — Haley continued to pitch herself as a candidate who can appeal beyond the traditional GOP base, a knock at both Trump and at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).
Asked if she can get the support of MAGA voters, Haley asked: “Do you want a Republican that can win more than just this small group? Do you want a Republican that can actually win the presidency by bringing more people into our party?”
“This is a wake-up call for the Republican Party,” she said.
Wang reported from Washington.