Lol: Nikki Haley Mulling 2024 Run

BRET BAIER FOX NEWSANCHOR: Hello again! “Special Report.”

We are joined tonight at the table by Nikki Haley (ex-ambassador to the United Nations) and Nikki Haley (ex-Gouvernor of South Carolina).

We appreciate you joining us.

NIKKI HALEY (FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR OF THE UNITED NATIONS – It is great to be with you.

BAIER: I am going to start by talking about the news of today with you. The handling of classified documents has been the topic that has received a lot of attention.

You handled classified documents. What do you think of President Biden’s handling of classified documents? And what did you see with former President Trump? Where are you going to go from here?

HALEY: It is best to not take classified documents into an unsecure area.

It is clear that President Trump did it, as well as President Biden. Both should be investigated to ensure that there were no threats to national security. Conservatives are upset by the fact that Republicans and Democrats can do the same thing. Republicans are vilified and Democrats just sweep it under their carpet.

And so that’s the FBI/DOJ double standard. At some point, something’s got to give. You can’t weaponize our agencies and have it play out this way.

BAIER: This week’s world stage is dominated by Davos, Switzerland and the World Economic Forum.

Listen to these speeches and you will see that climate change is the most important issue on the international stage. You have the Iranian protests. China is on the move on many fronts. What is the greatest challenge facing the world?

HALEY: That is so — Davos is so tone-deaf, because, if you look at the fact, families can’t afford their groceries, mothers can’t find baby formula.

The crime rate is at an all-time high. You have got inflation that’s up. You have got children who are so far behind in education, I don’t know that we’re going to catch them up. That’s great that they can go talk about the environment in Davos, but that’s not what Americans are feeling.

BAIER: South Carolina was your governor. While you were governor, the economy was strong. Republicans and Democrats have had a difficult time balancing federal funds.

HALEY – Governors need to balance their budgets.

So, we do understand what it means to kind of pick and choose what you’re going to spend on. I think, when you look at the debt ceiling, we’re $31 trillion in debt. To make interest payments, we borrow money. Our debt is greater than the economy. We haven’t had that since World War II.

We’re certainly in a place that is not sustainable.

BAIER: In the fall, we talked about your ambitions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP).

BAIER: When do you make a decision whether you’re going to run for president?

Does it matter if former President Trump makes a decision?

HALEY: Look, I have said for a long time, if there’s a place for me, and I put my hat in, I have never lost a race. I’m not going to start now.

(END VIDEO CLIP).

BAIER: After the holidays, you said you would look at it. Now, think about it. You would read the tea leaves in your own words.

We are now in the new year. How are the tea leaves looking? Is it possible to run for the presidency?

HALEY: Well, I’m not going to make an announcement here.

But when you’re looking at a run for president, you look at two things. First, you ask yourself if the current situation calls for new leadership. The second question is: Am I that person who can be that leader? What about being that leader? Yes, I believe I can be that leader.

I was — as governor, I took on a hurting state with double-digit unemployment, and we made it the beast of the Southeast. As ambassador, we took on the entire world for their disrespect. And I think I showed what I’m capable of at the United Nations.

Do you think you could be that leader? Yes. We are still working on things and will get it right. I have never lost an entire race. I was a teenager when I stated that. That is still what I say today. I’m not going to lose now. But, stay tuned.

BAIER: It seems like you’re getting close. It sounds — are we getting to the exploratory committee stage here?

HALEY – I think so, keep watching.

BAIER: OK.

A reporter asked you if Donald Trump would support you if he ran again for office in 2024. This is what you told an AP reporter “Yes. I would not run if President Trump ran. And I would talk to him about it.” Then you added: “That’s something that we will have a conversation about at some point.”

President Trump, the former President Trump is running. If you’re where you are, what has changed?

HALEY – I enjoyed a great working relationship. I was very grateful for the work we did together on foreign policy issues.

What I can tell you is that America’s survival matters. And it’s bigger than one person. And when you’re looking at the future of America, I think it’s time for new generational change. I don’t think you need to be 80 years old to go be a leader in D.C. I believe we need a young generation who can come in and start fixing things.

All of this was before Afghanistan surrendered. This was before we experienced high levels of inflation and high rates of crime. It was before drugs were infesting all our states. It was before our foreign policies were in chaos. It’s amazing how much has changed.

And when I look at that, I look at the fact, if I’m this passionate, and I’m this determined, why not me?

BAIER: So I have talked to a number of high-profile conservatives, some of them very supportive of Trump, Trump supporters from the beginning, who say, maybe it’s time, to your point, for a different person to hold the torch.

They love Trump policies but didn’t particularly love all the controversies around the man. Is this what you hear?

HALEY: I don’t so much listen to that as hearing all the negatives against Biden.

Seven out of eight popular vote for president have been lost in the past seven years. Seven of eight Republicans lost. Something is seriously wrong. And so I think it’s time that we bring in a new generation that can bring in more people to our party, that can really talk about the solutions that we need to go.

If I run, I’m running against Joe Biden. That’s what I’m focused on, because we can’t have a second term of Joe Biden.

BAIER: You already have supporters, even though you’re not declared.

Vanity Fair featured a piece that said, The Kushners (the family) are warming up to Nikki Haley and saying that, in essence, they support your efforts. “Jared Kushner’ parents invited about 20 friends to meet former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley at Kushner’s beach house in Jersey Shore. At the event, Jared’s father, Charles Kushner, predicted that Haley would be the first woman president. Some attendees made donations to Haley’s Stand For America PAC.”

So is the president’s son-in-law a supporter of yours?

HALEY: Look, the president’s son-in-law is a friend of mine. Jared is a dear friend of Ivanka. That’s what they are.

I fully suspect they will — expect that they will support the president. That’s where they should be. That’s who they are. But the Kushners are — are just dear people, and they have been supporters. That’s something that I truly appreciate.

BAIER: One person who doesn’t seem to be a supporter is Secretary Mike Pompeo, who writes in his book about an Oval Office meeting.

He stated: “I received a call one evening from John Kelly,” Chief of staff “who apologized for allowing Ambassador Haley to go to the Oval Office. She had gone — not gone in for a personal matter, but, rather, had entered the Oval Office with the president’s daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared. As best Kelly could tell, they were presenting a possible Haley for vice president option. He was certain he had been played.”

Is that really true? Did you want to get Mike Pence off that ticket?

HALEY: No.

And Pompeo even says he’s not sure if it’s true. I’ve never had a conversation about the vice-presidentship with Jared, Ivanka and the president. And what I will tell you is, it’s really sad when you’re having to go out there and put lies and gossip to sell a book.

I mean, I don’t know why he said it, but that’s exactly why I stayed out of D.C. as much as possible, to get away from the drama and get away from the gossip. I was focused on my job. And that’s what I always did.

BAIER: Senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway was asked about this on Brian Kilmeade’s radio show today.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP

KELLYANNE Conway, COUNSELOR to the PRESIDENT: It is true that people are trying to remove Mike Pence from the ticket.

I also thought it was so naive from some of the political novices like Jared Kushner that I worked with in the White House to actually think, well, let’s just get rid of the vice president. This whole idea, let’s just get a woman, get a woman, get a woman.

Who did it? One Joe Biden. We have a lot to thank Kamala Harris. So, I’m glad Secretary Pompeo has said this.

(END AUDIO CLIP).

BAIER: What do you think of Kellyanne Conway’s recollections?

HALEY – I have not spoken to anyone from the administration about this at all. It was gossip.

Mike Pence is my friend. It’s gossip. It was never discussed. If somebody else discussed it, they certainly didn’t discuss it with me. I mean, these — it’s just gossip. All gossip.

But there’s no truth to it. And Mike even says in his book, it’s just gossip.

BAIER: Do you think this will be a primary bruising procedure, if you get in?

HALEY: Politics is a blood sport. It was a blood sport for South Carolina. It was a blood sport at United Nations. There’s nothing I can’t handle.

Let the best woman win.

BAIER: I’m all right. This is candidate casino. You have $100 worth of chips.

What do you think your chances of getting in are with the $100 you have?

HALEY: Stay tuned.

Today, I believe I have done a lot for you. We’re leaning in. We’re leaning in. We’re focused on it. Keep checking back. It’ll be fun.

BAIER: It sounds like 75 to 80. We’ll see.

We appreciate your patience.

HALEY: We are grateful.