Ex-GOP rival may launch 11th-hour stump for Trump effort amid ‘yawning gender gap’
Former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) – a one-time bitter political rival of Donald Trump – could soon join the former president at a last-minute campaign event with just weeks to go before Election Day.
A former U.N. ambassador under the Trump administration who sought the Republican nomination this year, Haley is said to be in talks to appear alongside the ex-president to win over disaffected Republicans, according to The Bulwark, which cited sources familiar with the discussions.
The most likely scenario for a possible joint campaign event, the publication noted, is a town hall situation in the closing days of October, with Fox News host Sean Hannity possibly being involved.
“Facing a yawning gender gap, Trump’s campaign has hosted five other town halls moderated by female political figures since August, but none with the stature of Haley," Marc Caputo wrote Thursday. “The former ambassador ran a tough primary race against Trump, becoming the last Republican standing against him.”
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But since the former South Carolina’s appearance at the Republican National Convention in July where she spoke on behalf of Trump, the two have not appeared together, the article noted, adding that she had hinted on an episode of her new SiriusXM satellite radio show that lingering tensions with the former president remain.
“I don’t agree with Trump 100 percent of the time,” Haley is quoted by The Bulwark as saying.
Blueprint pollster Evan Roth Smith told the publication that “Haley is not the decisive factor” for voters who supported her in the primary. He added that the decisive factor “is Trump.”
Trump has hosted town halls in recent weeks featuring female surrogates, including former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR) and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL).