Florida Governor Ron DeSantis claimed that Nikki Haley has the support of “very liberal Democrats” as she seeks the Republican nomination.
The former Trump candidate joined “One Nation with Brian Kilmeade” on Saturday and claimed he found interesting voters at several Iowa caucus sites last month.
“The problem is, there were 7,000 Democrats who showed up the night of the caucus and switched to the Republican Party. I was at some of these caucus sites. They were very liberal Democrats. They were wearing N-95 masks. They were wearing shirts with liberal slogans on them, which was a core part of her strategy to appeal to those people. “It was something to do,” he said.
“Her strategy was to appeal to die-hard Republicans, but that doesn’t work in Republican primaries. Against someone as famous and already president, like Donald Trump. , it definitely won’t work.”
DeSantis suspended her campaign days after finishing second to Trump in the Hawkeye State, leaving Haley in third place.
Haley continues to face calls to halt her campaign and rally behind Trump after suffering multiple defeats in the primary. However, she insists that the path to her nomination is not yet closed.
But DeSantis is adamant that Haley’s influence does not extend to the current Republican majority of “conservative populist voters,” but is instead tied to a minority more closely aligned with the Republican establishment. do.
“She’s really toying with McCain, Romney, the 20% that leans Republican,” he told Kilmeade.
“Look, we need a big tent. We need everyone’s participation, but once we go in that direction, we’re really going to pollute the well of the majority of Republican primary voters.”
Haley has previously addressed allegations that voters outside the conservative bloc are supporting her campaign and avoided claims that she has moderate views.
“I’m a die-hard conservative. I always have been,” she told NBC News last month. “I was a fiscal conservative…I ran a socially conservative state.” [South Carolina]At the United Nations, we cut the budget by $1 billion so they can say whatever they want. ”
She and former President Trump are headed to South Carolina this week to face off in the highly anticipated primary, where voters in the Palmetto State, who appear to overwhelmingly support the former president, will cast their votes.
