Donald Trump Is Warned of 'Revolt' Over His Pick for Vice President

Republicans warned former President Donald Trump of a revolt if he picks GOP opponent Nikki Haley as his vice president.

Trump is the front-runner for his party's 2024 nomination and has recently gained more momentum after winning the Republican caucus in Iowa on Monday. Trump won 51 percent of the vote, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor and ex-United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley finished with 21.2 percent and 19.1 percent, respectively.

Haley is seen as a threat to Trump in New Hampshire, which will hold its primary on Tuesday. While Trump is still in the lead with 43.5 percent of voter support, Haley has 30.5 percent, according to poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight.

The idea of having Haley as Trump's vice president if he wins the nomination has been floated, but some conservatives have voiced their disapproval, including Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday, Kirk wrote: "Nikki Haley must not become Trump's VP candidate. Pro war, pro illegals, pro censorship, pro DC Uniparty. Haley would single handedly drag down Trump enthusiasm 10-15%. The base would revolt."

Representative Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican and Trump supporter, backed Kirk's comments, responding to the post: "Charlie is spot on."

Haley said: "I don't play for second," when asked if she would accept an offer to be Trump's vice president at a campaign event in Lebanon, New Hampshire, in late December.

Meanwhile, Trump launched a series of social media attacks against Haley on Wednesday, including an edited photo that imposed Haley's face over an image of Trump's 2016 Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

In a follow-up post, Kirk gave some options for Trump's vice president: "Good VP candidates that the grassroots would embrace: Tucker Carlson, Ben Carson, Byron Donalds, JD Vance, Vivek Ramaswamy, Ron Johnson, Kristi Noem and Rand Paul."

Newsweek reached out to Haley's, Trump's and Ramaswamy's campaigns via email for comment. It also reached out to Turning Point USA via online form and Gaetz via email.

Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur and former GOP candidate in the 2024 race, endorsed Trump after suspending his bid for presidency following low numbers in the Iowa caucus on Monday (7.7 percent of votes).

While Ramaswamy was on stage with Trump during the former president's campaign rally in Atkinson, New Hampshire, on Tuesday night, people in the crowd repeatedly cheered, "VP!"

Fox News host and former Trump White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, however, poured cold water on the idea of a Trump-Ramaswamy ticket, saying on Wednesday that the entrepreneur's chances of being Trump's potential vice president are "slim to none."

"I think when you're looking at a vice presidential candidate, you don't want a carbon copy of the nominee," she said. "And in many ways, Vivek and Trump, they pick up the same base of voters. It's the MAGA [Make America Great Again] voters, the conservative voters. You want someone who's going to add to your ticket.

"Trump needs every single Republican vote, so choosing someone who is just like him, I think, is a fool's errand."

Update 1/17/24, 2:18 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.