RON DeSantis and Nikki Haley are not likely to be considered as Trump’s running mate, former White House press secretary Sean Spicer has exclusively told The U.S. Sun.
Speculation over what a potential Trump ticket could look like is intensifying as the brash tycoon is currently the clear frontrunner in the race to be the GOP’s presidential nominee.
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It is highly unlikely that there will be another Trump – Mike Pence ticket as the former vice president has consistently said America needs new leadership.
Spicer, who served in the Trump Administration in 2017, told The U.S. Sun that Trump’s rivals are not a good fit for the position.
“Ron DeSantis nor Nikki Haley have shown any desire to be vice president. They’ve been fairly critical of the president,” he said.
“I don’t think he [Trump] wants them. So it goes both ways.”
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DeSantis and Haley have been cautious not to rile up Trump’s diehard supporters, but have criticized the ex-president on his record in The White House.
DeSantis has previously taken jabs at the Trump administration’s approach toward Covid-19.
“The first three years of the Trump administration, the economy’s better than it has been, but that last year with COVID, I think was mishandled dramatically,” he claimed.
“Shutting down the country was a huge mistake. Printing trillions and trillions of dollars was a huge mistake.”
DeSantis doesn’t believe Trump is the same candidate compared to his 2016 campaign and has accused him of not delivering on policies while he was in the White House.
In December, DeSantis claimed Trump didn’t use the power at his disposal when building his southern border wall.
Less than 500 miles of wall were built during Trump’s term in office before the policy was scrapped by Biden.
The Florida governor has repeatedly urged Trump to defend his record at debates.
So far, Trump has decided to skip the events.
Meanwhile, Haley has called for a new generation of leaders within the Republican Party to emerge.
She’s previously accused Trump of pursuing vendettas and claimed he had an opportunity to stop the January 6 insurrection in 2021.
In the recent CNN town hall, Haley told the audience she used to tell Trump he was his own worst enemy.
“Chaos follows him. And we can’t have a country in disarray and a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos. We won’t survive it,” Haley said.
Spicer suggested three Republicans who Trump might consider as potential options for his running mate.
“Kristi Noem [the Governor of South Dakota], Sarah Huckabee Sanders [the Governor of Arkansas], and Elise Stefanik [the chair of the House Republican Conference] are the frontrunners,” he said.
“They are effective conservatives. They like Trump and he likes them.”
‘THEY LIKE HIM’
All three women have endorsed Trump’s bid for the Republican nomination.
Sharing her support for Trump, Sanders said, “The time has come to return to the normal policies of the Trump era which created a safer, stronger, and more prosperous America, and that’s why I am proud to endorse Donald Trump for President.”
Sanders delivered the Republican challenge to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.
Stefanik was one of the first Republicans to back Trump’s bid for the White House, while Noem said Trump has her “full and complete endorsement.”
The U.S. Sun has approached Stefanik’s, Sanders’, and Noem’s teams for comment. We did not receive a response ahead of publication.
David Carlucci, a former New York state senator, admitted he would be surprised if any of Trump’s rivals ended up being chosen as his running mate.
But, he speculated that Vivek Ramaswamy may have a role in a future Trump administration.
“Ramaswamy has almost been like a surrogate for Trump on the debate stage,” Carlucci added.
He noted that Trump could turn to South Carolina Senator Tim Scott for his running mate.
Scott suspended his presidential campaign in November last year.
Carlucci said it would be a strategic pick if Trump chose Scott as his running mate.
“It could really bode well for a Trump ticket,” he added.
‘DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD’
Despite being indicted four times, Trump heads the field in the race to be the party’s nominee.
He has a commanding lead in the national polls for the nomination against rivals DeSantis and Haley.
The first caucus is being held in Iowa on Monday night, and Trump boasts a solid lead, but Spicer described his polling advantage as a double-edged sword.
“Right now, he’s up 30 to 40 points. In any normal situation, winning caucuses by 10 points would be a huge win,” he said.
“There are a lot more expectations now which go along with being the frontrunner.”
Spicer told The U.S. Sun that the Trump team’s ground game is far more organized and professional compared to what it was in 2016.
Haley and DeSantis are fighting it out to finish in second place.
The average Iowa polls compiled by FiveThirtyEight show the former South Carolina Governor ahead of DeSantis.
DeSantis has been forced to deny speculation that he could suspend his campaign if he falls short in Iowa.
Trump’s lead is not as huge in New Hampshire as it is in Iowa, with some polls suggesting Haley has cut his advantage to single digits.
A recent CNN poll suggested Haley is only seven points behind Trump in the New Hampshire contest.
As of January 15, Trump leads Haley in New Hampshire by 13 points on average, per FiveThirtyEight.
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