Election Predictions 2020: Trump Will Dump VP Pence For Nikki Haley; 'Guaranteed,' Says Analyst

Paul Begala -- the man whose strategy helped then Arkansas governor Bill Clinton win the presidency in 1992 -- is stirring up a hornet's nest within the Republican Party.

His latest shot at the GOP poured gasoline on persistent rumors vice president Mike Pence is on his way out as president Donald Trump's pick in November in favor of the lady that was once governor of South Carolina.

The Democrat and CNN political pundit frequently called on to give the left's viewpoint on the politics of the day made two stunning predictions at a recent event hosted by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Begala sat as a panelist at Monday's 2020 AIPAC Policy Conference and was asked (as were the three other panelists) to make bold predictions about something that will happen in November.

Bakari Sellers, a well-known Democrat who was once the youngest African American elected to Congress, got the ball rolling by stating he's out of the prediction business since he thought Hillary Clinton would be president of the U.S. Sellers nonetheless hazarded a forecast, saying, "I believe that as we go into January, we will be inaugurating Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as president and vice president of the United States."

Begala, who was next up, was more precise in his prediction. He even gave a date as to when his prediction would occur.

"This is not a prediction," Begala pointed out.

"This is a certainty. On Thursday, July 16th, that's the day the Democrats give his or her acceptance address. On that day and to interrupt that narrative, Donald Trump will call a press conference at Mar-a-Lago. He's gonna dump Mike Pence and put Nikki Haley on the ticket to try to get those suburban moms. You watch. Guaranteed. Trump ... will put Pence in charge of coronavirus .... and he'll throw him under the bus."

Rumors remain rife within the GOP Pence is no longer in Trump's good graces, appearances notwithstanding. Some claim Trump's appointment of Pence last week as coronavirus "czar" is meant to make Pence a scapegoat for the eventual failure of the administration's efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S.

Persistent rumors have been raging for months Trump will eventually make Haley his VP. Of course, Haley and Pence deny the rumors of any animosity between them. Haley, however, has never been shy about her ambition of becoming the first woman president of the U.S. And becoming Trump's VP pick, whether or not Trump wins, is a useful step in this direction.