The chances of GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley joining forces with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis may be slim, but it’s not impossible.
In a joint interview with NBC News and the Des Moines Register on Friday, Haley said that she would “maybe” consider DeSantis as a running mate for her campaign.
This comes as the onetime South Carolina governor overtakes DeSantis for second place in some polling of the GOP race, behind former President Donald Trump. DeSantis has also appeared to lose the loyalty of some GOP politicians, while many Republican lawmakers have renewed their support for Trump.
“I am going to defeat Donald Trump on my own. ... If he wants to join forces with me, I welcome that,” Haley said in Friday’s interview, referring to DeSantis.
“But right now, we’ve got a race that we feel good about. We’ve got a surge. We’ve got momentum.”
DeSantis, who has criticized both Haley and Trump throughout the GOP contest, seems less open to the idea. When NBC News and the Des Moines Register on Thursday asked him about potentially joining up with Haley, DeSantis responded, “For what?”
He also said that Haley “doesn’t have a core set of convictions” and described her as “phony.”
Their comments arrive ahead of a GOP debate in Iowa next week and the state caucuses. Trump holds significant leads in polls of Iowa voters.
See more from Haley’s interview at NBC News and the Des Moines Register.