Nikki Haley delivers flawless “boy you messin up” face. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

This is a little odd.

As I wrote several months ago now, President Trump put to bed the idea that he was going to push Mike Pence aside for another VP when he announced his campaign. He made it unequivocally clear that Pence had done the job well and would be on the ticket once again. Of course, we are talking about Donald Trump, so things are never truly settled I guess.

Despite previous insistence it wasn’t an issue, Nikki Haley came out today with a fairly defensive tweet slamming “false” rumors she would supplant Mike Pence.

Enough of the false rumors. Vice President Pence has been a dear friend of mine for years. He has been a loyal and trustworthy VP to the President. He has my complete support. ❤️🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/waPyQjC8Eb

— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) August 21, 2019

The timing this is weird given there’s been no real rumors floating around involving Nikki Haley taking Mike Pence’s place. Any rumblings of that died out before the summer even got into full swing.

Meanwhile, liberal media figures on social media decided to take this in that most classless direction.

We've all heard the rumors Pence and Haley are having a torrid affair, but I guess they are just dear friends after all. https://t.co/BXpJiHC7hi

— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) August 21, 2019

Putting the sexist, unprofessionalism of Chait aside, Haley has to be talking joining the Trump 2020 ticket. We are left to assume that perhaps there were rumors flying around in establishment circles behind the scenes. I’m not sure what else could have prompted her tweet and that is the simplest explanation.

On a political level, this is the best decision for all involved anyway. Trump getting rid of Pence would simply add to the chaos narrative and could possibly hurt him with a certain faction of the right. Trump 2020 is going to be a wild ride and ultimately it’s going to be about the top of the ticket, not who the VP is. If Haley has aspirations for the White House, it’s to her benefit to sit this cycle out and start fresh in 2024. If Trump wins, she can follow him up as a once successful member of his team. If a Democrat wins, she’d be a strong candidate that neuters their identity politics push.

We’ll see how all this plays out, but if anyone was still talking about this possibility, perhaps this finally closes the door.

I’ve got a new twitter! Please help by following @bonchieredstate.