‘I wish her well’: Donald Trump says not considering Nikki Haley for VP

The former United States President and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, on Saturday (May 11) took to his social media platform and said he is not considering his rival Nikki Haley as his running mate and potential vice president, dismissing a report by news website Axios.

‘Not under consideration’

Trump, 77, took to his social media platform Truth Social and said “Nikki Haley is not under consideration for the V.P. slot, but I wish her well!”

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A report by Axios, earlier on Saturday, citing sources said Haley was ‘under active consideration’ by Trump’s campaign to be his running mate.

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This comes as the Republican frontrunner is yet to pick his running mate and potential VP with the presidential elections just months away.

Trump could pick Haley, the former South Carolina governor and US ambassador to the United Nations if he were convinced she’d help him win the presidency, avoid a potential prison sentence and cover tens of millions in legal bills if he loses, Axios had reported earlier.

The former governor dropped her long-shot bid for the presidency in March after Trump dominated in Republican primaries.

Notably, after dropping out of the race, Haley did not endorse the former president who once called her a “birdbrain.”

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The former governor is yet to respond to the latest reports, but before the New Hampshire primaries. Earlier this year, she had definitively nixed the idea telling voters that the idea of being the VP is “off the table”.

Who is Trump planning to pick?

So far, Trump has had a long list of potential candidates for the VP position which includes names like North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Senators Marco Rubio, Tim Scott and J.D. Vance and New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik.

However, chances of Noem being on that list or in the running seem low as she has recently come under fire for killing her 14-month-old dog and writing about it in her book.

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A report by Rolling Stone magazine, earlier this month, citing sources said that the former president has been “privately trashing” Noem for killing her puppy during conversations with close political allies and other confidants.

Some of the sources, according to the magazine, said they are disclosing these details because they want the South Dakota governor to be “permanently eliminated” from Trump’s vice presidential shortlist.

(With inputs from agencies)