Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has stood out in the recent Republican presidential debates, although the frontrunner declined to show up. WFAE’s Tommy Tomlinson, in his "On My Mind" commentary, says Haley may have to decide what she’s running for.
The current Republican presidential debates are one of the weirdest reality shows in recent memory. You know how, in a beauty pageant, they always make sure to say how the runner-up will step in in case the winner is unable to fulfill her duties? Everybody in these debates is running for runner-up. Just in case Donald Trump stumbles into a prison cell between now and November.
Trump hasn’t showed up for the debates and he doesn’t need to. His lead over the rest of the Republican field is like Secretariat in the Belmont Stakes. Plus he’s defending himself against federal and state charges that he mishandled classified documents and, you know, tried to steal the 2020 election. So he’s a little busy right now.
What’s clear is that former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley stands out from the rest of the Republican field. To be honest, it hasn’t been that hard. All she’s had to do is act like a grown-up.
Chris Christie is a grown-up, too — of all the candidates, he’s the only one brave enough to call out Trump. But in this climate he’d probably get more votes as a Democrat. So he doesn’t really count.
On the other end of the spectrum, Vivek Ramaswamy is doing his best Trump impression — the other night, he even claimed that the Jan. 6 insurrection was “an inside job.” Which might be true, but not the way he thinks it is.
And then there’s Ron DeSantis, who somehow, against all odds, I feel a little sorry for. I mean, I disagree with pretty much everything he stands for as a politician. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so unsuited to standing on stage and trying to convince people that he’s a normal human being. I can understand how Florida voted for him, because everybody in Florida is weird. But he has no chance in a national election.
And that leaves Nikki Haley.
I don’t agree with most of her stands, either. But next to her competition, she seems absolutely reasonable. Like somebody you could have a conversation with, and might actually want to.
And while she’s not exactly anti-Trump, she has been willing to criticize him from time to time, like when she disagreed with him referring to his political opponents as “vermin.” I realize that feels like the lowest possible bar to jump over, but still.
It’s worth trying to finish second in the Republican race, because it always feels like Trump is one step from disaster. But I also think Haley might really be running for vice president. As Mike Pence knows, being Trump’s number two comes with its own hazards. And I do think, regardless of the VP, the real race is between Trump and American democracy.
Let me stop for a minute and linger on that point, because the idea that Trump is an actual threat to democracy maybe makes some of you more conservative listeners roll your eyes. I don’t know how to say this more clearly: After he lost the 2020 election, Donald Trump tried to install himself as the unelected head of state. To that end, he riled up his followers to the extent that they literally stormed the Capitol and went hunting for members of Congress. If Mike Pence had not finally stood up to his boss, Trump might have succeeded. And nothing that has happened since then indicates that Trump shows any remorse or would do anything differently. He does not want to lead the country. He wants to run it.
If we sign up for another round of this, I don’t know if the vice president would even be able to make a difference. But I would hope that if the moment comes, Nikki Haley would, as Pence did, eventually realize which side she’s on.
Tommy Tomlinson’s "On My Mind" column runs Mondays on WFAE and WFAE.org. It represents his opinion, not the opinion of WFAE. You can respond to this column in the comments section at wfae.org.
You can also listen to Tommy’s podcast “SouthBound,” where he interviews notable Southerners. It’s available here. Or you can listen and subscribe wherever you get podcasts.
