With former President Donald Trump closing in on the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination, he’s looking for a running mate who can handle the big job if necessary.
“That’s the purpose,” he said in the interview. “It’s 95 percent of it, I would think.”
President Trump said he’s looking for a choice that’s politically compatible and someone he can work with.
“You really want to make sure that you pick somebody that, should it be necessary—and we hope it isn’t—that they'll be a great president,” he said.
“I may or may not release something over the next couple of months,” he said. “There’s no rush to that. It won’t have any impact at all.”
President Trump went on to say that the pick he thinks he likes is “pretty standard,” and people ”won’t be that surprised.”
“But I would say there’s probably a 25 percent chance it would be that person,” he said.
Striking Back at Nikki Haley
In both interviews, President Trump took questions about former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley.In the Fox News interview, he was asked about Ms. Haley’s attacks on his age and mental fitness after he mentioned the candidate when speaking about the events of Jan. 6, 2021, on the campaign trail. He replied that he “aced” a recent cognitive test.
“She’s just trying to get a little nasty because she came in third place,” President Trump said in reference to her finish in the Republican Party of Iowa’s Jan. 15 Caucus.
President Trump was also asked to explain his calling Ms. Haley a “globalist fool.” She was appointed to her ambassadorship by President Trump and held the post from 2017 to 2018.
“She is a globalist. I’ve always known that about her. And our country cannot be globalist,” President Trump said. “We don’t even have that choice anymore. We owe $35 trillion. And we have to take care of ourselves first.”
The next question was about a new nickname he’s assigned to Ms. Haley: “Nimrod.” The interviewer, Fox News Chief Political Anchor Bret Baier, asked if that was a play on Ms. Haley’s birth name, Nimrata Nikki Randhawa. He had previously dubbed her “birdbrain.”
“With her, it’s just something that came to us ... it’s a little bit of a take-off on her name, wherever she may come from,” President Trump said. ”I have fun with it. And sometimes, to tell you the truth, it’s a very effective tool.”
Finally, Mr. Baier asked about Ms. Haley’s saying President Trump is lashing out at her because he feels threatened.
“I’m not concerned with her at all,” President Trump said. “I think we’re gonna win very big [in New Hampshire.]”
In the Newsmax interview, the former president was asked if he would call on Ms. Haley to suspend her campaign should he win on Jan. 23.
“I would never call for it, but perhaps she should,” President Trump responded.
“Maybe she'll drop out on Tuesday. Let’s see what happens. I don’t ask people to drop out. They have to drop out of their own volition.”
