Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley called on Republicans to accept that Vice President Harris is the Democratic nominee, “stop whining” and focus on defeating her at the polls.
Haley told Fox News’ Bret Baier on Tuesday that she expects the Democratic presidential nominee to switch from President Biden to Harris, which is why she’s made Harris a central figure in the Republican primary campaign.
“Republicans shouldn’t be surprised that we’re now up against Kamala Harris. She’s been our opponent all along,” she said. “The way we saw Joe Biden, there’s no way he could withstand the stress of a presidential election. So that’s what I believed at the time. So I was always counting on her, because I knew Kamala Harris was the one for us.”
“There’s one thing Republicans need to stop doing: stop complaining about her,” she continued. “We knew she was going to be president.”
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 former President Trump’s lead over Biden.
Haley also argued that Harris has so far refused interviews with major networks, but said Republicans need not worry.
“She’s not going to give interviews. They’re going to hold out as long as they can. That’s their right. They can do that,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t talk about her beliefs. We should go out and do that.”
Haley added, “I don’t need an interview with Kamala Harris. I believe her when she says she wants to raise taxes on families making over $100,000, she wants to add a drug tax and a health care tax.”
“I believe she believes illegal immigrants should have the right to vote and a driver’s license. I believe she wants to ban fracking and take away a ton of American jobs. Take her at her word.”
Haley also said Trump needed to shift his messaging from talk of crowd sizes to substantive policy if he wanted to connect with voters.
“I think the campaign needs to be focused. That’s the biggest thing,” she said. “Look, this is a winnable election, but you 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.”
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.
