Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney argued that if Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley doesn’t drop out of the race after another defeat from former President Trump, she will have some explaining to do.
Mulvaney joined “The Hill on NewsNation” Tuesday to discuss Haley’s campaign as polls began to close in the crucial 2024 election milestone.
“Look, the general election started back in January, because as soon as you got out of Iowa, it was pretty clear that Donald Trump was going to be the Republican nominee,” Mulvaney said.
“But yeah, now you start wondering, does Nikki Haley actually formally throw in the towel tomorrow after she gets crushed tonight?” he continued. “I gotta think that she probably does.”
Haley has ruled out the idea of running either as an independent candidate or under a No Labels ticket if the GOP nomination goes to Trump, which appears increasingly likely.
Despite interest in continuing her campaign outside the GOP primary and questions about her path forward, Haley has maintained that she’s a conservative Republican and won’t run as a third-party candidate.
Her statements came before the polls closed Tuesday, which marked her last chance to dig into Trump’s momentum.
Mulvaney argued that if Haley doesn’t drop out of the race following a defeat Tuesday, she’s “got some explaining” to do as to why she doesn’t step aside.
He continued, saying that Trump has now shifted his attention away from defeating Haley and more toward President Biden, as more contests in this election cycle are completed and the two look likely to participate in a 2020 presidential election rematch.
The Hill and NewsNation are both owned by Nexstar Media Group.