NIKKI HALEY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/UN: “Nikki Haley is getting out of the Trump administration with her stature elevated and political prospects brightened — not something that could be said for most top political power players who leave the President’s reputation-crushing fold. Outshining the showman in chief in her Oval Office goodbye Tuesday [10-9-18], the outgoing US ambassador to the UN pocketed a valuable endorsement for a political career no one thinks is over. The President, in comments that might one day find new life as a campaign ad, said Haley ‘has been very special to me. She’s done an incredible job. She’s a fantastic person, very importantly — but she also is somebody that gets it.’ As she sat smiling beside the President, their unusual photo op, and the generosity of a President whose good mood may owe much to his current political roll, suggested Haley has the essential ingredient of high-flying political careers — timing.”
–Stephen Collinson, “Nikki Haley may have timed her exit perfectly,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, October 9, 2018 8:22 pm