Former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign quickly criticized presidential contender Nikki Haley (R) after she announced her candidacy for president.
Moments after Haley launched her presidential bid in Charleston, South Carolina, the Trump campaign released an email headlined: “The Real Nikki Haley.”
The email listed seven critiques of prior comments that Haley has made, including her statement in April 2021 that she would not run for president if Trump did.
“I would not run if President Trump ran, and I would talk to him about it. That’s something that we will have a conversation about at some point if that decision is something that has to be made,” she said.
Despite her comments, Haley entered the 2024 GOP presidential race, arguing that it is “time for a new generation to lead.”
Get excited! Time for a new generation.
Let’s do this! 👊 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/BD5k4WY1CP
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 14, 2023
While serving as U.N. ambassador during the Trump administration, Haley said she “had a great working relationship” with the former president.
“I appreciated the way he let me do my job. I thought we did some fantastically great foreign policy things together,” she said in April 2021. “And look, I just want to keep building on what we accomplished.”
The Trump campaign also blasted Haley’s 2012 interview with the New York Times, during which she said, “the real reason I actually ran for office is because of Hillary Clinton.”
“I went to Birmingham University and Hillary Clinton was the keynote speaker on a leadership institute and she said that when it comes to women running for office, there will be everybody that tells you why you shouldn’t but that’s all the reasons why we need you to do it and I walked out of there thinking, that’s it. I’m running for office,” she said at the time.
Trump’s campaign also criticized Haley for urging the U.S. to send Ukraine fighter jets “instead of finding a peaceful solution to the Ukraine-Russia war.” The campaign also noted that she told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in March 2022 that the war “never would have happened” in the Trump administration.
“As much as everybody wants to talk about what he says, what I look at is what he did. He sanctioned Russia,” Haley said at the time.
“He expelled diplomats. He shut off Nord Stream 2. He built up our military, and he made us energy independent. All of those things countered Putin and countered Russia,” she added.
In January 2016, the Republican Party tapped Nikki Haley to deliver its response to former President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.
As she gave the party’s response, she attacked Trump for his views on illegal immigration. Although Haley refrained from mentioning Trump by name, she said:
“During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices,” Haley said from the governor’s residence in Columbia. “We must resist that temptation. No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country.”
According to a RealClearPolitics poll, 47% of Republicans support Trump to become the 2024 presidential nominee. Less than 4% of them support Haley.
