45th President Donald Trump released a list of facts about Nimrata “Nikki” Haley, his first Republican primary opponent for 2024, highlighting her past policy positions and ties to the Republican Party establishment.
Titled, “The Real Nikki Haley” and sent with Trump’s official campaign letterhead, the document relies on quotes from Haley to tie her to Hillary Clinton and Paul Ryan, question her bona fides on social security, highlight her previous weak stance on immigration, reveal her support for the U.S. escalation of the war in Ukraine, and lack of a stand on transgender issues.
“Hillary Clinton is an inspiration to Nikki Haley,” the document charges, before quoting Haley in 2012: “The reason I actually ran for office is because of Hillary Clinton,” she said, according to the New York Times.
Then, the Trump camp noted that Haley “praised [Paul] Ryan’s Medicare proposal” which threatened Medicare and Social Security funding, before noting that Haley continued to question government spending on the two programs as recently as April of 2022.
Perhaps more concerning for the Republican base – most of whom remain convinced that Trump’s “Make America Great Again” agenda should be supported, even if by another candidate – the Trump campaign then underscored Haley’s questionable statements regarding immigration, lack of support for Trump’s famous border wall, and questionable stance on transgender bathrooms.
“Legal immigrants are more patriotic than most Americans these days,” Haley said in September of last year, during an appearance on the Dom Giordano Show highlighted by the campaign.
The campaign also referenced a 2018 report by Breitbart that alleged “Haley’s deputy at the United Nations,” where she was an Ambassador for the Trump administration, “is a Never Trumper and helped Mark Zuckerberg create his open borders lobbying group.”
President Trump, United Nation Secretary-General António Guterres, Nikki Haley at the United Nations General Assembly in 2018 (Trump White House)
It was also noted that Haley defended 44th President Barack Obama when Trump and other Republicans blasted his immigration policies in 2016.
Finally, the campaign recalled that Haley refused to support a bill banning transgender bathrooms in a bid to support vulnerable children, with Haley telling the press, “I don’t believe it’s necessary” at the time.
Haley’s presidential bid was formally announced today, though it experienced a soft launch earlier this week.
Prior to representing the Trump administration in the United States, Haley was the governor of South Carolina. There, she is perhaps best remembered for removing the Confederate battle flag from public buildings.
This news and commentary by Tom Pappert originally appeared on Valiant News.
