New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman says former secretary of state Mike Pompeo is already talking about running for president, no matter what his old boss — former President Donald Trump — decides to do in 2024.
Haberman joined New Day on Monday to talk about Trump’s appearance at the World Series in Atlanta over the weekend. At one point, John Berman asked Haberman for her thoughts about Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) saying he would support Trump if he were to run for president again.
Haberman said she heard Scott’s name being passed around for 2024 among “Republicans who liked Trump’s policies [but] did not like Trump’s behavior.” She referred to private conversations among Republicans that she knows about, and said: “Mike Pompeo has told a number of people he told Trump directly he will run even if Trump runs.”
“Did [Trump] get annoyed?” Haberman asked hypothetically. “We’re never going to know, it’s a conversation between the two of them, but [Pompeo] is one of the people saying that.”
Haberman added that former President Mike Pence is also a possible candidate for 2024. However, “he will have a hard time running if Trump does, as would Pompeo for the same reason.”
If Pompeo winds up competing against Trump in 2024, his presidential ambitions are likely to face an uphill battle as Haberman says. Multiple polls from
UPDATE — 7:50 a.m. ET: Following her CNN appearance, Haberman wrote on Twitter that an aide to Pompeo insisted he was “joking.”
Watch above, via CNN.