NIKKI HALEY WILL NEVER BE PRESIDENT, PART XCVIII

The Hill reports:

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Friday pushed back against President Trump's tweet in which he appeared to mock an attempted robbery at the home of Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.).

This is so unnecessary. 🙄

— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) August 2, 2019

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway fired back at Haley later Friday while emphasizing that Trump and Vice President Pence would both be on the ticket in 2020.

THIS is so unnecessary
Trump-PENCE2020 https://t.co/wopDdCWRwR

— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) August 2, 2019

Conway correctly targets both Haley and the naive pundits who've speculated that Trump might drop Pence from the ticket in favor of Haley. That's never going to happen, and not just because Haley is a woman of color. It won't happen because Pence is a ring-kisser -- the polite term -- and Haley isn't. Also, Trump fears that dropping Pence for a running mate who started life as a non-Christian would greatly offend his conservative evangelical base. (I think they'd stick with him -- he hates the people they hate, which is the most important thing to right-wing evangelicals -- though he's still fearful.)

But will GOP voters still remember this tweet four years from now? Oh, hell yes. As I always say, these folks are still angry at Jane Fonda. They collect grievances. Haley seems determined to mint a collectible every few months.

She's one of the rare Republicans who believes there's something to what Pete Buttigieg said this week in the debates: “If you are watching this at home and you are a Republican member of Congress, consider the fact that, when the sun sets on your career and they are writing your story, of all the good and bad things you did in your life, the thing you will be remembered for is whether, in this moment, with this president, you found the courage to stand up to him or you continued to put party over country.” She also clearly believes there'll be a come-to-their-senses moment in the post-Trump GOP.

Neither of these things is true. Enabling Trump won't be the first line in most Republicans' obituaries, any more than enabling Nixon was, and Republican voters will want a rage candidate in 2024 as much as they do now. But hey, keep telling yourself that your party isn't a morally bankrupt rage-driven cult, Nikki.