Presidential candidate Nikki Haley dismissed speculation that she is in the GOP race to become vice president, saying she doesn't think "anyone else" is cut out to serve in the White House.
Haley was the first major Republican to launch a campaign to challenge former President Donald Trump. She said in an interview with Politico on Thursday that she frequently hears comments about her intentions for the 2024 GOP primary, setting the record straight on her end goal.
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“I think everybody that says, ‘She’s doing this to be vice president,’ needs to understand I don’t run for second,” Haley said. "That’s something that I hear all the time, and I’ll tell you that, look, we have a country to save, and I don’t trust anybody else to do it."
Haley is the only female candidate so far in the 2024 GOP primary race. She holds a RealClearPolitics average of 3.4%, ranking fifth nationwide and sometimes shooting up to second in state polls, such as ones from her home state of South Carolina.
The former South Carolina governor's status in the GOP presidential field was kicked up a notch after CNN anchor Don Lemon said she was "past her prime" at age 51, drawing criticism from both Democratic and Republican women. Being a female candidate does not always guarantee support from female voters, as shown in the 2016 campaign between Trump and Hillary Clinton. In that race, 41% of women voted for Trump.
However, Haley said she does not think her gender is playing, or will play, a role in her polling standings.
"Do I happen to be a woman? Yes. Do I happen to be Indian? Yes. Do I happen to be a military spouse? Yes. Do I happen to be a mom? Yes. All those things are great,” she said.
“I think that when I become the first female president, it won’t be because I’m a woman. It’ll be because … I’m the right person for the job," Haley continued.
Haley has pitched herself as a no-nonsense candidate who does not engage in the mudslinging typical of Trump and some other Republican hopefuls.
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She previously said she has "no reason" to pick a personal fight with Trump and she is "tired of responding to all the Trump drama," referring to the former president's legal cases.
“I’m an accountant. I’m a military spouse. I’m a mom,” she said to Politico. “I understand that we’ve got debt issues, we’ve got crime issues, we’ve got border issues, we’ve gotten education issues, and we’ve got China literally beating us every day. I don’t have time for the theatrics.”