Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said former President Donald Trump should choose former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley as his running mate next year.
Trump currently is the clear front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Recent polls show Haley has overtaken Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place in the GOP primary field.
During the New York Times's DealBook Summit on Wednesday, McCarthy was asked who would be the "right person" for Trump to pick as his vice president. Questioner Andrew Ross Sorkin offered four options: Haley, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
"If I was a political person, and I was going to advise somebody, you're going to pick the vice president, that's about addition, not subtraction. So you're not going to pick somebody that already equates to you," McCarthy said, The Hill reported.
"Now if I was picking for purely political decisions, what it looks like today is the anti-Trump vote is going to Nikki Haley."
The former speaker said Trump would need support from the GOP's base and independents to win back the White House.
McCarthy added that the former president would be helped by selecting a person who could convince anti-Trump voters to support the ticket.
"If that person is with you, maybe they [anti-Trump voters] would be with you, too," said McCarthy, who was asked who that person is.
"Well, right now I think it would be Nikki Haley, in my view. But the question is who you select, will they serve? So that's another question you have to have. And it's about addition."
McCarthy, despite having been a strong Trump supporter, has not offered an official endorsement.
"The campaign is still going. There's a very good chance I would endorse President Trump," McCarthy said.
"I believe President Trump will be our nominee and I believe President Trump will get reelected."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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