Nikki Haley might be getting at Donald Trump as the GOP primary heads to New Hampshire next week. Over the past week, the former president has gone full tilt against his handpicked ambassador to the UN, oddly sharing her full name and even likening her to one of Trump’s vanquished rivals.
Newsweek writes:
The former president has shared multiple attacks on Haley, who worked as U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration, on Truth Social over the space of a few hours. These attacks include sharing polls showing he is the better suited GOP candidate to beat President Joe Biden in the 2024 election, saying she wants to cut Social Security benefits and increase taxes, and accusing the former South Carolina governor of being an “establishment candidate.”
He also likened her to Trump’s 2016 challenger, Hillary Clinton, by posting a photo that imposed Haley’s face over an image of Clinton.
The attacks come amid suggestions that Haley, and not Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who came a distant second in Iowa on Monday, is Trump’s biggest challenger in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. The New Hampshire primary on January 23 is expected to be a closer race, with some polls showing Haley has narrowed Trump’s lead there to single digits.
In one Truth Social post, Trump attacked Haley over her speech following the Iowa caucus results, while misspelling her now unused first name Nimarata. In that speech, she said “when you look at what we’re doing in New Hampshire, in South Carolina, and beyond, I can safely say tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race.”
For her part, Haley isn’t backing down. She told CNN, “I know President Trump well. That’s what he does when he feels threatened, that’s what he does when he feels insecure.”
“I know that I am a threat. I know that’s why he’s doing that,’ she said. ‘So it’s not going to waste any energy from me. I’m going to continue to focus on the things that people want to talk about and not get into the name-calling back with him,” she continued.
Politico noted that “Haley’s campaign this week has put out videos trolling Trump, as well as ones featuring flattering things he said about Haley when she worked for his administration. Both she and her campaign have made clear that Haley, despite failing to surpass Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place in Iowa, is proceeding as if Trump is her only remaining rival.”
Some polls have shown Haley catching Trump in the New Hampshire primary, which will be held next Tuesday.
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