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Haley pushes back but does not categorically rule out being Trump's running mate

Published

2 years ago

January 4, 2024

Haley pushes back but does not categorically rule out being Trump's running mate

RYE, N.H. – Nikki Haley says derogatory suggestions in recent weeks by two of her top rivals for the Republican presidential nomination that she’s hoping to serve as former President Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate are a clear signal they are “losing.”

But Haley, the former South Carolina governor who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, once again passed on an opportunity to categorically deny she would join Trump on the Republican ticket should the former president win the party’s nomination.

In a Fox News Digital interview Tuesday ahead of a town hall in New Hampshire, Haley reiterated she is running to win.

“I have said from the very beginning I don’t play for second. It’s offensive for anybody to think that I would do all of this to play for second. And so I have said that. I will continue to say that. If people aren’t satisfied with that, I don’t know what else to say,” Haley said.

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Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, speaks at a town hall in Rye, N.H., Jan. 2, 2023. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)

Haley has surged in the polls over the past month in New Hampshire, the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP nominating calendar. And in Iowa, whose Jan. 15 caucuses lead off the Republican schedule, Haley’s pulled even with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for a distant second place behind Trump, who remains the frontrunner for the GOP nomination as he makes his third straight White House run.

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In recent weeks, DeSantis and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who’s in third place in the latest polls in New Hampshire, have taken aim at Haley for not being vocal enough in her criticism of Trump. Both candidates have argued Haley has an ulterior motive.

“She will not answer directly, and she owes you an answer to this: Will she accept a vice presidential nomination from Donald Trump? Yes or no?” DeSantis said at a town hall in New Hampshire last month.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, headlines a town hall in Concord, N.H., Dec. 15, 2023. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)

“I can tell you under any circumstance, I will not accept that because that’s not why I’m running,” the Florida governor added. “I’m running for the nomination and to be president.”

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The DeSantis campaign last month launched a website with a URL of trumpnikki2024.com, which included a video suggesting Haley may serve as Trump’s No. 2 in the general election.

Christie, on multiple occasions over the past month, including a town hall in New Hampshire and in a CBS News interview, has emphasized that, “Ron DeSantis and I have both ruled out accepting the vice presidency from Donald Trump. Nikki Haley has not.”

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, headlines a town hall in Londonderry, N.H., Dec. 13, 2023. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)

“That’s why she’s not saying strong things against Donald Trump,” Christie argued.

Haley has frequently repeated that she is not running for second place in the GOP 2024 presidential primary.

And early last month, when a voter at a town hall in Iowa pressed Haley on whether she’d settle for the vice presidential nomination, Haley shook her head and made a throat-slashing gesture.

This week, when asked about the attacks from Christie and DeSantis, Haley told Fox News, “They’ve criticized me for everything. Let’s be clear. That’s what happens when you’re losing.

“We’ve got a race to win. We intend to win it. We’re going to do it fair and square and, at the end of the day, we’re going to make sure America is strong.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.

News

Satellite images provide view inside Iran at war

Published

5 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Satellite images provide view inside Iran at war

Smoke rises over Konarak naval base in southern Iran on Sunday. The base was one of hundreds of targets of U.S. and Israeli forces throughout the country.

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Commercial satellite images are providing a unique look at the extent of damage being done to Iran’s military facilities across the country.

The U.S. and Israeli military campaign opened with a daytime attack that struck Iranian leadership in central Tehran. Smoke was still visible rising from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s compound following the attack that killed the supreme leader.

An image by the company Airbus taken on Saturday shows the aftermath of an Israeli strike on Iran’s Leadership House in central Tehran. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the opening wave of attacks.

Pléiades Neo (c) Airbus DS 2026

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Pléiades Neo (c) Airbus DS 2026

Israel and the U.S. have gone on to strike targets across the country. Reports on social media indicate that there have been numerous military bases and compounds attacked all over Iran, and Iran has responded with attacks throughout the Middle East.

U.S. forces have also been striking at Iran’s navy. In a post on his social media platform, President Trump said that he had been briefed that U.S. forces had sunk nine Iranian naval vessels. U.S. Central Command did not immediately confirm that number but it did say it had struck an Iranian warship in port.

An image captured on February 28 shows a ship burning at Iran's naval base at Konarak.

An image captured on Saturday shows a ship burning at Iran’s naval base at Konarak.

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Numerous satellite images show burning vessels at Konarak naval base in southern Iran. Images also show damage to a nearby airbase where hardened hangers were struck by precision munitions.

Hardened aircraft shelters at Konarak airbase were struck with precision munitions.

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And there was extensive damage at a drone base in the same area. Iran has launched numerous drones and missiles toward Israel and U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Many drones have been intercepted but videos on social media show that some have evaded air defenses and caused damage in nearby Gulf countries. In Dubai, debris from an Iranian drone damaged the iconic Burj Al Arab, according to a statement from Dubai’s government.

Buildings at an Iranian drone base at Konarak were destroyed in the strikes.

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Iran’s most powerful weapons are its long-range missiles. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have hidden the missiles deep inside mountain tunnels. Images taken Sunday in the mountains of northern Iran indicate that some of those tunnels were hit in a wave of strikes.

Following Khamenei’s death, Iran declared 40 days of mourning. Satellite images showed mourners gathering in Tehran’s Enghelab square on Sunday.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told NPR on Sunday that Iran will continue to fight “foreign aggression, foreign domination.”

A White House official told NPR that Trump plans to talk to Iran’s interim leadership “eventually,” but that for now, U.S. operations continue in the region “unabated.”

A large crowd of mourners fill Enghelab Square in Tehran on Sunday, following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

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News

Video: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms

Published

15 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Video: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms

new video loaded: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms

The first battle of the midterm elections will be the U.S. Senate primary in Texas. Our Texas bureau chief, David Goodman, explains why Democrats and Republicans across the U.S. are watching closely to see what happens in the state.

By J. David Goodman, Alexandra Ostasiewicz, June Kim and Luke Piotrowski

March 1, 2026

News

Mass shooting at Austin, Texas bar leaves at least 3 dead, 14 wounded, authorities say

Published

17 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Mass shooting at Austin, Texas bar leaves at least 3 dead, 14 wounded, authorities say

Gunfire rang out at a bar in Austin, Texas, early Sunday and at least three people were killed, the city’s police chief said.

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis told reporters the shooter was killed by officers at the scene.

Fourteen others were hospitalized and three were in critical condition, Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz said.

“We received a call at 1:39 a.m. and within 57 seconds, the first paramedics and officers were on scene actively treating the patients,” Luckritz said.

There was no initial word on the shooter’s identity or motive.

An Austin police officer guards the scene on West 6th Street at West Avenue after a shooting on Sunday, March 1, 2026, in Austin, Texas.

Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP

Davis noted how fortunate it was that there was a heavy police presence in Austin’s entertainment district at the time, enabling officers to respond quickly as bars were closing.

“Officers immediately transitioned … and were faced with the individual with a gun,” Davis said. “Three of our officers returned fire, killing the suspect.”

She called the shooting a “tragic, tragic” incident.