Former President Trump ramped up his attacks on former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley at a rally in Iowa on Friday, going after the candidate who is gaining support in polls.
President Trump said, “Nikki Haley's campaign is being funded by Biden donors,'' and later called her a “globalist.''
“She likes the globe. I like America first,” he added. “The establishment losers and traitors who are so far behind us in the Republican primaries cannot be trusted on things like taxes and trade. They are globalists and always will be.”
The attack comes as Haley closes in on Trump's lead in New Hampshire. The Hill/Decision Desk headquarters poll average has her trailing the former president by nearly 12 points. While there is still a wide margin, the margin has narrowed more than any other candidate in any other early primary state.
President Trump also criticized Haley for not mentioning slavery as a cause of the Civil War in her remarks last week. In response to a question from a New Hampshire voter, she discussed issues of liberty and states' rights as sources of conflict, leading to a wave of criticism from both sides, including Republican primary candidates.
She later blamed the question on “plants” and dismissed concerns of racism because she “had black friends growing up,” but the criticism only increased.
“She doesn't have what it takes,” Trump said at the rally.
Haley's spokeswoman Natchama Soloveitchik defended the campaign: Statement to the New York Times.
“If President Trump feels so strongly about his false attacks, he should stop hiding and defend them on the Des Moines debate stage,” she said. “[Trump] You probably don't remember that Nikki Haley passed one of the toughest anti-illegal immigration laws in the country in 2011, when she was still a liberal in New York City. ”
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