Nikki Haley referred to as former President Donald Trump “unhinged” and “more diminished than he was” in 2016.
In an interview with “Today” co-host Craig Melvin on Tuesday, Haley defended voting for Trump in 2016 and 2020, saying that she was proud to serve him and his administration because the U.N. ambassador from 2017 to 2018.
Now, as somebody operating for the Republican nomination for president in 2024 towards Trump, Haley is taking hits on the former president.
“The problem now is he is not the same person he was in 2016,” she stated of Trump. “He is unhinged; he is more diminished than he was.”
On Monday, she referred to as out Trump after he questioned the place Haley’s husband, Michael Haley, who’s on a yearlong National Guard deployment, was throughout a rally Saturday.
“Where’s your husband?” Trump stated on the marketing campaign path. “Oh, he’s away. He’s away. What happened to her husband? What happened to her husband? Where is he? He’s gone!”
Haley stated Monday that Trump couldn’t be trusted to guard the troops, saying, “If you don’t have respect for our military and our veterans, God help us all if that’s the case.”
She echoed that sentiment Tuesday: “If you don’t know the value of our men and women in uniform, if you don’t know the sacrifice that they go through, why should I, as a military spouse, and all our military families trust you to know that you’re going to keep them out of harm’s way?”
Haley took one other hit at Trump on Tuesday, when she hinted that he’s making an attempt to affect the election outcomes by selling his former marketing campaign adviser and daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, for chairs on the Republican National Committee.
“Think about what’s happening right now,” Haley stated at a marketing campaign occasion in South Carolina. “Is that how you’re going to try and take an election?”
Steven Cheung, Trump’s campaign spokesperson, told NBC News that her comment “reeks of desperation.”
“Nikki ‘Braindead Birdbrain’ Haley reeks of desperation as it’s clear she knows she has no shot, and is now auditioning for a cable news contract when her 15 minutes are over,” Cheung said. “But not before she can squeeze every last dollar out of her Democrat benefactors.”
Haley told Melvin during their interview that she is “not loyal to anyone,” including Trump.
“I don’t do that,” she said. “What I do is I call it out. If you’re right, you’re right. If you’re wrong, you’re wrong, and I’m going to call it out every time.”
Last week, Haley took a blow in Nevada’s major when “none of these candidates” acquired greater than 40,000 votes, whereas she solely acquired 21,000. Trump wasn’t on the poll. Afterward, Haley stated Nevada was a “scam.”
Haley told Melvin that “there is no way” America will vote for a convicted criminal, alluding to the criminal cases Trump is facing, but during a debate, Haley raised her hand in agreement to support whoever the GOP nominee is for the 2024 election. She told Melvin that any Republican is better than President Joe Biden because “everyone sees how diminished Joe Biden is.”
“I know what the American people want,” Haley said. “They want to be heard, they’ve been through a lot, they don’t see enough money in their wallets. I’m doing this because we have to do something. We can’t just sit back and let it happen.”