While former President Donald Trump is the frontrunner in the Republican primary, Trump’s primary opponents say they’re going to help him if elected—even as he tears into them.
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley promised Thursday in New Hampshire that if she were to be elected, she’d “pardon Trump if he was found guilty,” according to Business Insider.
“A leader needs to think about what’s in the best interest of the country,” Haley said. “What’s in the best interest of the country is not to have an 80-year-old man sitting in jail, that continues to divide our country.”
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The same day, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that he’d fire special counsel Jack Smith on his first day as President, according to The Hill. DeSantis then accused Smith, who has brought two indictments against Trump, and the Biden administration of having “weaponized the legal system to go after their political enemies.”
“And that starts with day one, firing somebody like Jack Smith. That goes to dealing with people who are violating constitutional rights at the state and local government area,” DeSantis said.
Though Haley and DeSantis promised to help Trump, in his usual fashion, he’s repeatedly bashed his primary opponents. In February, shortly after Haley announced her candidacy, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the “greatest thing” she did was to accept the U.N. ambassadorship so Henry McMaster could take her place as governor of South Carolina, according to Forbes.
“That was a big reason why I appointed Nikki to the position—it was a favor to the people I love in South Carolina,” Trump wrote.
This week, Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., squashed rumors that Haley would be Trump’s vice presidential nominee, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“I wouldn’t have her on. I would go to great lengths to make sure that that doesn’t happen,” he said during a Newsmax interview, adding that she was “a puppet of the establishment.”
On Truth Social, Trump gave Haley one of his famous nicknames: “Birdbrain.” In a post Monday, Trump slammed her for being endorsed by Americans For Prosperity—which Trump called Americans For Chinese Prosperity—a conservative political advocacy group founded by the right-wing Koch brothers.
“Americans For Chinese Prosperity (Action?) is a Globalist CON JOB that is big on giving our Country away to China and other countries throughout the World. They Endorsed ‘Birdbrain’ because that has always been where her sympathies lie. She is a Globalist RINO, much like ‘Rob’ DeSanctimonious, but not a smart one, and I got to see that up close and personal. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” Trump wrote.
And, as that post shows, Trump is not a fan of “DeSanctimonious”, either. Though in 2018, Trump endorsed DeSantis for governor, and DeSantis supported him during the Mueller probe, their allyship has cooled. Since then, Trump said DeSantis has has “got no personality,” and called him a “Trump imposter.”
While DeSantis has occasionally hit back at Trump, even telling reporters that if Trump “drained the swamp like he promised… [he] wouldn’t be in the mess that he’s in right now,” this isn’t the first time he’s defended Trump in recent memory. Earlier this month, he said Trump was not a “threat to democracy,” and should have gone further and, for example, fired Dr. Anthony Fauci.