Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley said Tuesday that if Republicans want to win the November election, they need to “seriously pivot” to focus on key demographics that could help them catch Vice President Harris in the polls.
Haley told Fox News’ Bret Baier that former President Trump should stop arguing over frivolous points like comparing crowd sizes and focus on policy issues that will appeal to voters.
“I think what voters are looking for is someone who cares about them,” Haley said of her constituents. “They’re looking for someone who’s focused. They’re looking for someone who’s going to talk about the current state of education in this country and how kids are getting dumber instead of smarter. They’re looking for someone who’s going to talk about homeownership and how hard it is to own a home.”
“They want someone to talk about the fact that prices have gone up 19 percent, and they can’t do anything about it. They want someone to talk about how to prevent war. That’s what they want,” she continued.
Haley argued that Trump can win but that Harris needs to focus on appealing to the former president’s base of support.
“This is a winnable election, but we need to be focused. Who is your target market? Your target market is suburban women, college-educated people, independents, conservative Democrats. That’s your target market.”
The Trump campaign appeared to be caught off guard by the surge in Harris’ approval ratings when she entered the race, catapulting her into a powerful position that nearly erased Trump’s lead over President Biden.
Haley was highly critical of Trump during the primary, claiming he was too old and not what the country needs, but has since toned down her criticism. She endorsed Trump in May and could appeal to a more moderate base of Republican voters.
The former South Carolina governor also said he expected the transition from Biden to Harris to be coming, which is why he made it a centerpiece of his Republican primary campaign.
