Donald Trump May Drop JD Vance for Nikki Haley, Ex-Clinton Adviser Says

An ex-adviser to former President Bill Clinton has predicted that former President Donald Trump will remove Senator JD Vance as his vice presidential pick.

Rumors of Trump suffering buyer’s remorse after choosing Vance as his 2024 running mate have been rampant since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the likely Democratic presidential nominee.

While Trump has publicly insisted that he is happy with Vance, saying the senator is “doing a fantastic job” and has been “very well received” by the public during a Fox News interview on Thursday, worries remain about whether the Ohio senator could be a liability for Republicans in November.

Paul Begala, who served as White House adviser and chief strategist during Clinton’s successful 1992 campaign, suggested during a CNN appearance on Thursday night that Trump may decide to ditch Vance in favor of former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.

Begala said during a panel discussion on Jake Tapper’s interview with Haley, which aired minutes earlier, that the former ambassador was “campaigning” for the VP slot and that Democrats had already “set a precedent” by changing their ticket.

“There’s a nonzero chance the Republicans take their vice presidential candidate off the ticket,” Begala said. “He’s been a dud. He’s the first vice presidential nominee of either party since 1980 to begin underwater in his approval ratings.”

“He’s not good on the stump,” he continued. “I don’t like Trump [but] he’s really charismatic … JD, so far, is just dull. This is a woman [Haley] campaigning to get on the ticket, you watch, this year. You watch.”

Begala went on to ponder “what a different race we would have” if Trump had chosen Haley over Vance, arguing that she would act as “a bridge” to potential swing voters coveted by both parties.

“Trump is not good with long relationships,” Begala concluded. “And he’s not gonna hang in there with JD.”

In response to Newsweek’s request for comment on Begala’s prediction, Trump/Vance campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said that “there’s a reason Paul Beluga [sic] no longer gets paid for his political advice.”

While Haley might have a broader appeal to undecided voters than Vance, her status as the last Republican to mount a primary challenge against Trump, when the former president often referred to her as “birdbrain,” may make the scenario unlikely.

Haley endorsed Trump at last week’s Republican National Convention. However, she warned Republicans while campaigning earlier this year that Trump becoming the GOP nominee would lead to Democrats winning in November. Trump said in May that Haley was “not under consideration” as his VP pick.

Trump’s decision to pick Vance as his running mate, which was announced less than 48 hours after the former president survived an assassination attempt, has prompted concerns about the Republican ticket’s appeal to women following Biden’s decision to drop out of the race.

Vance has faced backlash over previously expressing support for a national abortion ban. The Ohio senator and Trump, who frequently boasts about appointing Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, have been attempting to soften their abortion rhetoric ahead of the election.

The senator also once suggested that the country was being run by “childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives,” a comment that has since been denounced by women on both ends of the political spectrum.