'It's really more about 2028': Shannon Bream discusses why Nikki Haley is choosing to stay in the GOP presidential race on 'Fox & Friends'
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Fox News anchor Shannon Bream joined 'Fox & Friends' hosts Will Cain, Rachel Campos, and Pete Hegseth to discuss why GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley has chosen to stay in the race even after losing the primary in her home state of South Carolina on the February 25 episode of 'Fox & Friends'.
The GOP Primary, which took place on February 24, saw former president Donald Trump come way ahead with a vote share of 59.8% and 47 out of the 50 delegates. Haley, the former governor of the state, trailed behind with 39.5% votes and 3 delegates, according to The New York Times.
Shannon Bream's take on Nikki Haley staying in the race
While the hosts speculated a number of reasons, from being an "insurance" amids Trump's legal troubles, a potential third-party candidate, or a straight-up saboteur, Bream felt that the chances for those to be true were very slim.
"There's this thought that this is more about '28," she stated, before adding, "That if president Trump loses this fall, she is going to be the one to be able to stand there and say, 'I was screaming at you guys that I was the electable one (and) he wasn't electable.'"
"(Haley) has continuously pointed to not only the 2020 election, but the interim elections, the mid-terms that didn't go super well, (and) some of these special elections and other things that haven't fared well," she continued.
"So I think that thinking is among her team that she'll be able to turn back and say that if president Trump is the nominee and if he loses, 'You guys didn't listen to me but here I am to help you pick up the pieces.'"
Nikki Haley has a 'voter problem'
The consecutive losses faced by the former UN Ambassador in the GOP primaries pointed out her inability to convince voters, mentioned Bream.
South Carolina had an open GOP primary, where anyone irrespective of their party affiliation could vote as long as they had refrained from voting in the Democratic primary. This raised the question of how many such people, who were not part of the GOP base, showed up and voted for Haley.
"She has not convinced the GOP base that she is the alternative that they need, that they want," said Bream. "She has got really good (at) fundraising ... she doesn't have a donor problem, she has got a voter problem," she added.
"In Fox News voter analysis, 59% of the people who voted for Nikki Haley ... said they are not going to vote for president Trump if he is the nominee. So you have got to wonder who it is that's been showing up for her in these primaries," Bream further added.
