NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. – Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has launched a volume of attacks on rival Donald Trump over the former president’s reluctance to criticize Russian leader Vladimir Putin. are increasing.
“Trump went beyond the allies who helped us on 9/11 and sided with an evil man,” said the former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration. He made the accusation while pointing at President Putin at a rally on Wednesday. .
Minutes later, in an interview with Fox News Digital outside a campaign bus in North Augusta, South Carolina, Haley said, “In no world would a presidential candidate side with a dictator or a tyrant who kills politics.” I don’t understand it,” he said. ”
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Republican presidential candidate and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks at a campaign event in North Augusta, South Carolina, Wednesday, February 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Meg Kinard) (AP Photo/Meg Kinard)
“It’s a complete lack of moral clarity, and the same thing happens every time he looks away from the teleprompter,” Haley said in a verbal attack on Trump.
Haley began ramping up her attacks on Trump last month. At that time, she became her last rival to face the former president. Trump is the leading candidate in the race for the Republican nomination for the White House for a third consecutive year.
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Haley has been at issue with President Trump for more than a week over the former president’s controversial comments that he would not stand in Moscow’s way if Putin attacked NATO members that have not paid their dues in full. has been strongly criticized.
And after the death of Russian opposition leader and political prisoner Alexi Navalny in a Siberian prison last week, many around the world are blaming Putin. Haley accused President Trump of not speaking up.
President Trump mourned Navalny’s death when he was asked about it by host Laura Ingraham during a Fox News town hall in Greenville, South Carolina, on Tuesday.
“Mr. Navalny is in a very sad situation,” Trump said. “That’s terrifying.”
However, President Trump emphasized the comparison between his own criminal indictment and the circumstances surrounding Navalny.
President Trump pointed to the numerous lawsuits he has filed, including two arising from his efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss to President Biden, saying, “The same thing is happening in our country. It’s happening,” he claimed.
President Trump accused the United States of becoming “in many ways a communist country.”
However, the former president did not mention Putin in connection with Navalny’s death.
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Asked about these comments, Haley told Fox News Digital: “If you’re going to talk about Mr. Navalny, you should be talking about what a hero he is. You should be talking about how President Putin is a thug. But The question is, what is Donald Trump doing?” “He compares himself to Mr. Navalny based on his case law. Everything becomes about Trump. Everything. He’s obsessed with himself. We need a president who’s obsessed with the American people. Him. I can’t seem to do that.”
On February 21, 2024, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, a former ambassador to the United Nations and former governor of South Carolina, criticized former President Donald Trump at a rally in Beaufort, South Carolina. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
President Trump emphasized his tough stance against the Russian leader, repeating at City Hall, “President Putin has taken land from all of the last five presidents except me.”
However, Trump has a history of occasionally praising Putin, dating back to his time in the White House. And his latest comments come as House Republicans reject further military funding to Ukraine in its two-year war with Russia.
Get the latest on the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more with Fox News Digital’s Election Hub.
