Former President Donald Trump cannot win a 2024 rematch with President Joe Biden, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley opined on Monday in an interview with CNBC.
The former U.N. ambassador said she would support Trump if he’s the Republican nominee but does not foresee him winning.
“If he gets the nomination, I would support him because I am not going to have a President Kamala Harris,” Haley said on CNBC’s Squawk Box. “We can’t afford that. That is not going to happen.”
Haley has said that re-electing Biden eventually would mean a Harris presidency if the 80-year-old president cannot go forward.
She said Trump would have trouble in the general election considering his legal problems. He’s facing a possible third criminal indictment from a grand jury convened by Special Counsel Jack Smith over the January 6 march on the U.S. Capitol.
“You look at these indictments, there’s probably going to be a fourth indictment,” Haley said. “We can’t have, as Republicans, him as the nominee. He can’t win a general election. That’s the problem.
“We’ve got to go and have someone who can actually win,” she continued.
Trump, 77, has maintained a commanding lead over the GOP primary field. He’s favored by 51% in the latest Real Clear Politics poll, while Haley is at 3.4%.
“This is a marathon, it’s not a sprint. We’re just getting started. This will really start to shake up post-Labor Day,” she said. “Look back at 2016. In July of 2015 [Sen. Ted] Cruz had 4% going to Iowa caucuses. In November, he had 10%. In January, he won it outright.”
The U.S. senator from Texas lost the nomination to Trump.
“I have said it very clearly, that we need a new generational leader. We’ve got to leave this negativity behind,” she said.
Haley also talked about the U.S. rivalry with China. She said businesses should view the Chinese as a security threat.
“I think China’s an enemy. I think we have to take them incredibly seriously. And the problem is, you can look at dollars and cents or you can look at a threat to America,” Haley said.
“Companies and people have said for too long, ‘We’ll deal with China tomorrow.’ But China is dealing with us today. We’ve got to address this,” she added.
