If Nikki Haley becomes a nominee for president, there may be an unlikely choice for her running mate — a Democrat.
Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) is floating the idea that the two join forces on a “unity ticket,” according to a report from Mediaite.
The conversation was held Thursday on WCCO radio with host Chad Hartman.
Phillips has tried to gain steam as a presidential candidate as a Democrat, but has not been successful. So, now he’s thinking outside the box with a possible alliance with Haley, who is lagging behind former President Donald Trump for the GOP nomination.
Hartman asked if Phillips would vote for Haley if she won the nomination.
“Wouldn’t all your listeners be more compelled by maybe Nikki Haley and Dean Phillips getting together on a unity ticket and actually doing for the first time, perhaps in our country’s history, what most Americans really want, which is cooperation, collaboration, participation, decency, common sense, leadership?” Phillips said.
“So I’m gonna turn the question that way because there’s no way Nikki Haley will become the nominee in the GOP, and the fact of the matter is right now the Democratic Party doesn’t want competition and seems to want to coronate Joe Biden.”
However, when asked outright if he would join Haley on an independent ticket, Phillips said, “I think it’s a conversation Haley and I should have,” Audacy, WCCO News Talk, reported.
Phillips also said politicians should speak out more and not be afraid of a retribution.
In talking about himself, Phillips said he has “torpedoed his own career in Congress by speaking out against Biden and another term as president.
“There is no political reward for telling people the truth. There is no political reward for principal, and there is no political reward for [saying the] quiet part out loud,” Phillips said, according to Audacy.
But he lauded former Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney and Haley for their willingness to speak out. He wishes there were more.
“I’m very disappointed in many of my Democratic colleagues for their unwillingness to say out loud what they are all talking about in private,” Phillips said.
Another scenario includes who he would choose as a running mate should he be the candidate. Again, the answer is Haley.
“At [Biden’s] stage in life, and frankly at Donald Trump’s stage in life, these are not men actuarially positioned to ably lead our country into the future. And neither of them will be around living in that future,” Phillips said.
Phillips said this bipartisanship would provide “cooperation, collaboration, participation, decency, [and] common sense,” Audacy reported.
“In the event of a Donald Trump victory this November, which is almost certain if Joe Biden is the nominee, I think any American who opposes that should celebrate, encourage, and inspire an alternative that can actually win and lead our country in the way that people want, and I think anybody, including myself, should keep open minds and hearts about that,” Phillips said and Mediaite reported.
Currently, Haley, former governor of South Carolina, trails Trump with just 16.9% of the vote versus Trump’s 74.8%.
The two will face off Saturday in South Carolina’s primary race.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is also running for president as an independent.
