Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has claimed that she slapped down an overture from one of President-elect Donald Trump’s allies who suggested he could help her land a role in the new administration.
Haley, 52, recounted meeting with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s longtime friend and fellow real estate mogul, who expressed eagerness to patch things up between the two former rivals for the 2024 Republican nomination.
“I had no interest in being in [Trump’s] cabinet,” Haley said Wednesday on her weekly SiriusXM show, “Nikki Haley Live.”
“He knew that but to go a little further, his best friend, Steve Witkoff, came to our house in South Carolina, spoke to me and my husband, and basically wanted a truce between me and Donald Trump.
“I told him at the time there was no truce needed, that Trump had my support. There was no issues on my end. At that point, he was like, ‘What do you want? Tell me what you want. Is there anything you want?’ I said, ‘There’s nothing I want.’”
Earlier this week, Trump announced that Witkoff would be his special envoy to the Middle East. The 67-year-old was also golfing with Trump at his eponymous West Palm Beach, Fla., club on Sept. 15, when an assassination attempt against the 45th president was foiled by a Secret Service agent.
Trump, 78, reportedly had been livid that Haley stayed in the GOP primary into March despite having no realistic path to victory.
The once and future president was spotted glaring at Haley during her speech at the July Republican National Convention, while laughing and smiling during Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ address.
On Saturday, Trump ruled out bringing Haley back into his next administration.
“I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation. I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our Country,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Haley responded at the time by saying she was “proud” to have worked with Trump and that “I wish him, and all who serve, great success in moving us forward.”
The former governor of South Carolina recalled Wednesday that her husband and son wanted her to be more forceful in her response and note that she had no interest in any role.
“The truth is, I know the game he was playing. I don’t need to play that game, but more importantly, we have to look at the bigger picture. It is time to move on,” Haley explained.
“Do I take it personally? No, that’s who he is. He can be shallow at times, and I think he showed that.”
Haley also claimed to have spoken with Howard Lutnick, co-chair of Trump’s transition team and CEO of investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald.
“What I said is, I think it’s really important that Trump surrounds himself with people that are going to tell him the truth, and I mentioned someone I thought would be good for commerce secretary and mentioned that I thought the UN ambassador should be a cabinet pick,” Haley recalled.
“I did not ask anything for me.”
In response to a request for comment, the Trump campaign referred The Post to the president-elect’s Truth Social post about not bringing Haley into his next administration.
The Post also reached out to a Witkoff spokesperson for comment.
