Nikki Haley is looking ahead to Tuesday's New Hampshire primary on former President Trump's abusive rhetoric, but her campaign is desperate for a strong result.
She criticized Trump on Sunday for his apparent confusion during a campaign event with her and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) days earlier.
“Mr. Trump has repeatedly said that I prevented him from securing the Capitol on January 6th. I was not even near the Capitol. I was not in the office,” Haley said Sunday. He told a crowd in Derry, New Hampshire.
“The reality is he was a mess. He was as confused as Joe Biden was trying to start World War II. He said he opposed President Obama. It was just as confusing.”
President Trump appeared to confuse Pelosi at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Apparently, the mob of pro-Trump supporters angry about the election forced the evacuation of lawmakers was confused with Haley, the former South Carolina governor who was not in Washington. day and never served in Congress.
President Trump has appeared to confuse Biden and Obama in various statements in the past.
Haley, 52, is running against Trump, 77, in the Republican primary, and is making generational change her calling card for the presidential campaign, as she looks ahead to the general election against Biden, 81.
“Do we really want to field two presidential candidates who are in their 80s?” she asked rhetorically to a crowd of New Hampshire voters in Derry. “No!” several people in the crowd shouted back.
Trump has largely avoided scrutiny over his age and verbal errors, even as Biden is being scrutinized for age and mental acuity issues.
Part of the reason may be that other Republican presidential rivals are reluctant to attack the former president directly.
President Trump defended his age Saturday to a crowd of fervent supporters.
“I feel stronger today than I was 25 years ago,” President Trump told a friendly crowd of supporters at a Saturday night rally in Manchester, New Hampshire. Different people have different strokes,” Trump added with disdain for Biden.
Biden also doubled down on attacks on Trump over the mix-up on Sunday, posting a video documenting his predecessor's problems.
Biden: “I don't agree with Nikki Haley on everything, but I agree with her on this one: She's not Nancy Pelosi.'' Posted in Xformerly known as Twitter.
Haley faces a difficult path to victory in New Hampshire, where Trump has a large lead in the polls and appears to be gaining momentum with a landslide victory in the Iowa caucuses. It looks like. Trump also received a boost from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' decision to withdraw from the race.
Still, Matthew Bartlett, a New Hampshire-based Republican strategist, said Trump's pro-recognition stance could be a useful attack vector for Haley.
“Republicans have concerns about Mr. Biden, his age and his abilities, but now there are whispers about Mr. Trump as well,” Bartlett said. “More and more people are wondering why he didn't argue, but some of his performances are getting people talking, including this very strange senior moment.”
“It's hard to set traps for Trump, but he tends to set traps for himself, and he runs right into them,” he continued. “Even those who love him will admit that he is his own worst enemy and often gets into trouble both legally and on the campaign trail.”
Meanwhile, Trump's supporters don't seem concerned about Haley's latest attacks.
“Never Nikki,” Trump supporter Maria Martins exclaimed when asked about the recent attack on Trump by the former U.N. ambassador. She says, “When you have to rely on someone's personality, it's a losing strategy.”
Fellow Trump supporter Peter Salvitti predicted that Haley's attacks on Trump's cognitive status would not stick.
“It's different from President Trump's base,” Salvitti said. “She's obviously trying to appeal to a few independents here, a few moderate Democrats, and of course the RINO people,” he continued, referring to the acronym “Republican in Name Only.”
“She's hoping it will move her forward, but I don't think it will,” he added.
Meanwhile, President Trump's campaign has dismissed this tactic as hopeless.
“Obviously the contrast with Nikki Haley is gone,” senior Trump adviser Jason Miller told reporters on Sunday. “She's now trying to lead Democratic supporters to attack President Trump. I think Nikki Haley's campaign is coming to an end. It's just a sign of desperation.”
Doug and Michelle of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, who are voting Republican in Tuesday's election and came to see Haley speak on Sunday, will likely vote for the former president.
“I don't think age matters. It's cognitive ability, not age. I think…” Doug stopped. “Trump is pretty sharp,” Michelle agreed, “and pretty funny,” Doug added. But when asked about Biden, Doug told The Hill he was “scary.”
“I'm concerned about how well he'll do on a 3 a.m. call. Are they going to wake him up?” he said, referring to White House advisers.
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