Generally speaking, I’m a forgiving person. I believe in second chances. I sometimes believe in third chances. And as we’ve learned in the world of politics, sometimes people can be wrong and turn things around over time. Lest we forget, both Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan were Democrats before they weren’t.
Reports are circulating that Team Trump is in talks with former Ambassador Nikki Haley to participate in the last two weeks of his campaign, likely in exchange for some “considerations” should he win. There’s nothing surprising about this; Trump has demonstrated over the years a willingness to reconcile even with his harshest critics and strongest adversaries, including Ted Cruz, Glenn Beck, and Greg Gutfeld.
Haley represents a portion of the Republican Establishment that doesn’t believe in America First. She’s a NeoCon and card-carrying member of the Military Industrial Complex. But she does hold a little sway over Bush-Cheney Republicans and most importantly she’s a woman. The gap right now between Trump and Kamala Harris with women is quite large.
But here’s the thing. He doesn’t NEED her. She could possibly help a bit on the campaign trail but it’s negligible and possibly even risky. If she wants to do a town hall with him or something, that’s fine. But under no circumstances should he consider having her anywhere near his next administration.
His weakness in his first term was the people he surrounded himself with. Mike Pence, Rex Tillerson, Reince Priebus, Jeff Sessions, H.R. McMaster, John Bolton, Jim Mattis, Bill Barr, Alyssa Farah Griffin, John Kelly… should I go on?
Some are concerned that he’s now talking to people who are not conservative enough to be part of his next administration. Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and Tulsi Gabbard come to mind as high profile former Democrats who will all be in his White House if he wins. But they all have one thing in common that is very different from Haley. They do not want the United States involved in foreign conflicts, especially Ukraine. Haley would be Volodymyr Zelensky’s best friend if she were in the White House in any capacity.
So no, Trump should not entertain letting Haley back into Trumpworld. If she wants to help defeat Kamala Harris, that’s fine. But she gave up her White House pass with her campaign against him and there are no second chances for NeoCons who betray you even once.
