Watch: Trump supporters chase Nikki Haley into a CPAC elevator after she called for 'new leadership'
Former South Carolina Governor and United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley attended this weekend's Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, where she sought to gain ground among Republican voters as she seeks the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
Haley is the only declared candidate that spoke at the annual event other than her one-time boss, ex-President Donald Trump, who announced his third consecutive White House bid last November. But Haley broke her pledge to not challenge Trump if he decided to run, and their once close relationship has strained as Haley has distanced herself from the legally beleaguered Trump and his Make America Great Again movement.
At CPAC, that rift deepened when, according to Morning Joe host Willie Geist, Haley "took a veiled shot at Donald Trump, saying, 'we need a new generation of leadership' and 'are you tired of losing?'"
Haley, whose comments were a swipe at the GOP's lackluster performance in last year's midterm elections, was subsequently "chased into an elevator by Trump supporters chanting, 'Trump '24,'" Geist reported.
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He then noted that failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake – who insists without evidence and despite numerous rejected lawsuits that she lost through widespread fraud – won CPAC's 2024 vice presidential straw poll. Lake, however, nipped that possibility in the bud.
"BREAKING: Out of 30 contenders, @KariLake wins @CPAC straw poll for Vice President," Lake's team tweeted. "But unfortunately, our legal team says the Constitution won't allow for her to serve as Governor and VP at the same time."