Former South Carolina governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley held out some advice for former Vice President Mike Pence during an interview on Monday that more broadly applies to the GOP.
Haley made her comments in response to the former VP’s clapping back at former President Donald Trump over criticism regarding Pence’s refusal to reject electoral votes from states Trump’s campaign refuted following the 2020 election.
During an appearance on Fox News’ “Special Report,” host Brett Baier played Haley a clip of Pence refuting Trump’s claim that he had the power to overturn the 2020 election and asked for her response.
“Look, Mike Pence is a good man. He’s an honest man. I think he did what he thought was right on that day,” Haley responded.
But, she continued, “I will always say, I’m not a fan of Republicans going against Republicans because the only ones that win when that happens are the Democrats and the media. And we have to keep our eyes on 2022.”
“Mike Pence was saying what he thought he needed to say. He’s a good man. He’s an honest man. I hope that at the end of the day, President Trump and Mike Pence can come together and remember that we’ve got a lot of Republicans that need our help in 2022,” Haley added.
During a speech at a Federalist Society event on Friday, Pence said, “Our Founders were deeply suspicious of consolidated power in the nation’s capital and were rightly concerned with foreign interference if presidential elections were decided in the capita.
“But there are those in our party who believe that as the presiding officer over the joint session of Congress, I possessed unilateral authority to reject electoral college votes,” he added.
He added, “I had no right to overturn the election. The presidency belongs to the American people, and the American people alone. And frankly, there is no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president.”
“The presidency belongs to the American people, and the American people alone. And frankly, there’s no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president,” he added.
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“Under the Constitution, I had no right to change the outcome of our election. And Kamala Harris will have no right to overturn the election when we beat them in 2024,” he said.
In an email sent out by his Save America PAC, Trump responded: “Just saw Mike Pence’s statement on the fact that he had no right to do anything with respect to the Electoral Vote Count, other than being an automatic conveyor belt for the Old Crow Mitch McConnell to get Biden elected President as quickly as possible.
“Well, the Vice President’s position is not an automatic conveyor if obvious signs of voter fraud or irregularities exist. That’s why the Democrats and RINOs are working feverishly together to change the very law that Mike Pence and his unwitting advisors used on January 6 to say he had no choice,” Trump continued.
“The reason they want it changed is because they now say they don’t want the Vice President to have the right to ensure an honest vote,” the former president said.
“In other words, I was right and everyone knows it,” he maintained.
“If there is fraud or large scale irregularities, it would have been appropriate to send those votes back to the legislatures to figure it out. The Dems and RINOs want to take that right away. A great opportunity lost, but not forever, in the meantime our Country is going to hell!” Trump added.