SC Republican Mark Sanford suspicious of Nikki Haley’s departure: ‘Something doesn’t smell right’

South Carolina Republican and frequent Trump critic Mark Sanford mocked the sudden resignation of U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in a Tuesday appearance on MSNBC, telling host Craig Melvin the timing, just weeks ahead of the 2018 midterms, smelled fishy.

"Something doesn't smell right, something's weird," said Sanford. "I can't put my finger on it."

Sanford noted that he had previously worked closely with Haley's "head political guy", deputy John Lerner, who he said "keeps his nose to the political winds."

"Either there's another shoe to drop from a Trump standpoint, something that we don't know and that she wants to get out of the way of. Or alternatively there was this, you know, inquiry I guess put in yesterday on private planes," Sanford said, referring to an ethics inquiry into Haley's use of private flights.

"Given what she saw happen to [former Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom] Price and what she saw happen to [former EPA Administrator Scott] Pruitt, maybe she just doesn't want to, you know, risk the possibility of being pushed out as both of them were given the private plane question," he added.

"Maybe you could say 'I'm just tired and I need a break', but that's kind of like when people in politics say 'I just need to go home and spend more time with the family'," Sanford laughed.

"Something doesn't quite fit there, particularly if you come from South Carolina, which is the 'Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome world of politics," he added, chuckling.

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