On Saturday evening, Donald Trump gave a strong signal of what his second term would be like, writing on Truth Social: “I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation. I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” This was an unusual move that many ascribed to Trump’s personal pique against both, but there was more to it than that.
The New York Post reported Saturday that “since winning Tuesday’s election in a landslide victory against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump and his team have been working behind closed doors at Mar-a-Lago to staff the 47th president’s administration, with loyalty the primary job requirement.” Neither Haley nor Pompeo has been even close to loyal to Trump, and so that may be all there is to the kiss-off they got from the once and future president on Saturday, but the gulf between the incoming commander-in-chief and these two establishment Republicans is wider than a matter of personal loyalty.
As recently as Oct. 29, Haley, despite professing her support for Trump, criticized his campaign for being “overly masculine.” According to the Daily Beast, “Haley not only said that the bashing of Puerto Rico that occurred at Trump’s rally over the weekend was problematic, but that the campaign also ‘needs to look at how they are talking about women.’”
The “bashing of Puerto Rico” was a major Harris campaign talking point in the waning days of the campaign, as leftists once again proved that they were humorless prigs who couldn’t take even the mildest jest. Why was Haley repeating, endorsing, and amplifying a claim that the Harris campaign was using as a weapon against the candidate she supposedly supported?
Haley added: “This bromance and this masculinity stuff—it borders on edgy to the point that it’s going to make women uncomfortable. You’ve got affiliated PACs that are doing commercials about calling Kamala [Harris] the c-word, or you had speakers at Madison Square Garden referring to her and her ‘pimps.’ That is not the way to win women. That is not the way to win people who are concerned about Trump’s style.” What? Where were commercials running calling Harris “the c-word”? If such a thing existed, what network would even have run it? In any case, Trump has made clear his rejection of trans madness and the left’s related insanities. Why should he bring on board someone who shares the left’s hatred of masculinity?
That wasn’t the first time that Haley had repeated Democrat talking points. Politico reported in Aug. 2020 that Haley had claimed in her memoir to have been “deeply disturbed” when Trump said that there were “very fine people” on both sides of the Charlottesville protest, and still stood by her statements. Old Joe Biden, of course, made the lie that Trump had called National Socialists “fine people” a cornerstone of his 2020 campaign, and repeated this frequently throughout his presidency. Yet Trump in the same remarks in which he said that there had been “fine people” at the Charlottesville rally, also said: “I’ve condemned neo-Nazis. I’ve condemned many different groups. But not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists by any stretch.”
Thus the claim that he called Nazis “fine people” was always false, and Haley should have known that. Her tendency to endorse leftist claims without hesitation or due consideration places her in precisely the group Trump is signaling he wants to avoid this time around: Republicans who allow Democrats to set the agenda and even dictate the rules of the game, and simply raise minor objections here and there if they aren’t just rubber-stamping the whole leftist program.
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As for Pompeo, the Post noted that “Republicans have also blasted him for supporting special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of Trump over the possession of alleged classified documents.” Roger Stone wrote: “If Pompeo is placed into the next Trump administration, his history shows he would promote the hegemony of the deep state rather than an authentic America First agenda.” If Stone’s assessment is correct, Trump is wise to avoid Pompeo as well as Haley. His first administration was hampered repeatedly by the presence of establishment Republicans (John Bolton, John Kelly, H.R. McMaster, et al) who didn’t share his vision. His farewell to Haley and Pompeo carries with it the promise that his second administration will chart a firmer anti-establishment, anti-deep state course. We can only hope.
Haley responded graciously Saturday evening: “I was proud to work with President Trump defending America at the United Nations. I wish him, and all who serve, great success in moving us forward to a stronger, safer America over the next four years.” Great. Now, if she and her fellow establishmentarians stay out of his way, he might really have a chance to clean up the massive mess in Washington, or at least to begin the immense work of doing so.
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