Former RNC chair explains why Nikki Haley doesn’t fill MAGA Republicans’ thirst for 'retribution'

Poll after poll has shown Donald Trump to be the clear frontrunner in the 2024 GOP presidential primary. The former president, despite facing four criminal indictments, leads the second-place candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, by 48 percent in polls released on November 15 by Fox News and Quinnipiac University.

Polling, however, has also shown that in a hypothetical matchup, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley could be the most difficult GOP candidate for President Joe Biden to beat. Some polls released in November show Haley defeating Biden by 10 percent (Marquee), 11 percent (Fox News) or 6 percent (CNN) if she becomes the nominee, although Biden had a 2 percent lead over Haley in a Yahoo News poll.

POLL:Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?

During a Friday, November 17 appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele was asked why GOP voters aren't rallying around Haley in light of how competitive she could be against Biden and the fact that unlike Trump, she isn't facing four criminal indictments. And Steele — a Never Trump conservative who supported Biden in 2020 — bluntly responded that Haley doesn't fill MAGA voters' thirst for revenge.

Steele told an MSNBC panel that included host Joe Scarborough, Politico's Sam Stein and longtime BBC reporter Katty Kay, "What they care about is what Trump wants, what Trump's doing. That's their avatar. That's where they feel their retribution comes. He's the one who's going to make it right the way they want it; Nikki Haley doesn't do that."

The former RNC chairman continued, "In their view, Nikki Haley — yes, she was in the administration, but she's not all the way Trump. Right? Chris Christie certainly is not. So, the reality for a lot of his supporters is: Why would I go with light when I've got the real deal?.... It's purism over practicality. But at the core of it…. they genuinely believe that this time next year, Donald Trump will be getting ready to go back to the White House."

READ MORE: Nikki Haley-Ron DeSantis feud escalates as she catches up to him in polls

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