Trump needs Haley’s voters — and a deal may be imminent

WASHINGTON — So here’s what’s certain: Donald Trump will be the Republican presidential nominee, with the country now heading into a tough eight-month campaign pitting him against President Joe Biden.

Nikki Haley’s decision to accept defeat and abandon her pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination is the inevitable outcome of Super Tuesday. She can take some comfort in winning in Vermont. But Republicans there were never particularly enthusiastic about Trump in 2016 or 2020, and Haley’s fate was sealed when she failed to unseat the former president in any other state on Tuesday.

Haley continued to avoid questions Wednesday about whether she would ultimately support Trump for president. “On this issue,” she said in South Carolina when she announced her decision to suspend her campaign, “Margaret Thatcher had some good advice, and she said ‘never follow the crowd, make your own decisions.’ “

“It’s now up to Donald Trump to win the votes of those in our party and others who don’t support him,” Haley said, urging the former president to “get people to join your cause.” She said her only role right now is that of a private citizen. But she certainly hasn’t closed the door on a return to political battles in the coming months.

Considering all the negative things she said about Trump during the primaries, including her prediction that “he can’t win in November,” her decision not to endorse Trump may be a matter of actual politics. But regardless of her defeat on the campaign trail, she has become a beacon to Republican voters, many of whom say they will never support Trump in November. Well, no matter what drama ensues, her powder had better stay dry.

Trump needs Haley’s voters, which could ultimately put her in a good position to engage in what he calls “the art of the deal.” While the former president continues to claim that “the Republican Party has never been more united,” in reality there are deep rifts that perhaps only Haley can repair.

What might she want in return? She insists she is not interested in serving as Trump’s running mate, and Trump has said he is not interested in running with her. This could be unfortunate for the Republican Party, as votes from Trump and Haley would bring about real unity and could deal a fatal blow to the Biden-Harris team, which remains troubled in the polls and is desperate to The campaign needs to be refocused again.

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A standard-bearer for more traditional Republican orthodoxy, Haley has been dismissed as a “globalist” by Trump’s inner circle. If she really wants to move the Republican Party back to the position of Ronald Reagan, she might ask for a job as secretary of state in the Trump administration as the price of her support. She can then try to protect NATO from Trump’s vulgar instincts, keep up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin and define the future role of the United States in the Middle East.

But Haley has been there before. She served as ambassador to the United Nations during Trump’s first term and quickly became frustrated with his unrealistic, mercurial nature. He also may have no interest in her appearing at Cabinet meetings in the next administration, as he is determined to surround himself only with proven loyalists who can demonstrate loyalty to his Make America Great Again movement.

Haley’s power is a threat that could launch a third party to the White House. It will be a steep climb, with no chance of success given how loyal Trump supporters are to their personal brand. But she could split the Republican vote and deny him the keys to the White House.

Millions of Republicans will view her as a spoiler, undermining her ability to secure the party’s nomination in 2028. (Haley might ask Ralph Nader, a veteran consumer rights activist whose third-party campaign played a role in Al Gore’s defeat in 2000, what is it? It feels like being Considered a political pariah by one of the two major political parties in the United States).

Haley herself may not yet know how it all happened. Republican politics is littered with moderates whose careers have been ruined by the speeding locomotive of the Trump train. Former congresswoman Liz Cheney played a leading role in the congressional investigation that held Trump accountable for the deadly Capitol Hill riot on January 6, 2021.

Haley, Cheney and other Republican critics of the former president need Trump fever to dissipate from the party. For now, this is only going to intensify, and they may just have to wait until Republicans are more willing to accept the message that Trump poses an existential threat to the U.S. Constitution and its democracy.

Only one thing is certain: Between now and November, the patience of American voters will be tested like never before.