by Former President Donald J. Trump on Friday opened one of his most specific lines of attack yet against Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who has become one of his main competitors for the Republican nomination, accusing her of being “in the pocket”. ” from “establishment donors.”
At a campaign rally in Sioux Center, Iowa, Trump denounced Haley as the choice of corporate elites and the political establishment. Haley has received significant financial support from wealthy donors on Wall Street and the tech world, including billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who is a major Democratic donor.
“Nikki Haley’s campaign is being funded by Biden donors,” Trump told hundreds of attendees at an event space about 20 miles from the South Dakota border, referring to Haley as a “globalist.”
“She likes the world. “I like America first,” Trump said, adding that “you can’t trust the establishment losers and traitors who are far behind us in the Republican primaries on taxes, trade or anything else.” They are globalists and always will be.”
Trump also cited Haley’s recent missteps on the campaign trail, particularly her response last week to a question in New Hampshire about the causes of the Civil War. Mrs. Haley did not mention slavery in her response.
“She doesn’t have what it takes,” Trump said.
A Haley campaign spokeswoman, Nachama Soloveichik, said: “If Trump feels so strongly about his false attacks, he should stop hiding and defend them on the debate stage in Des Moines.” She added that Trump “probably doesn’t remember that Nikki Haley passed one of the nation’s strictest anti-illegal immigration laws in 2011, because he was still a New York City liberal.”
Trump’s increased scrutiny of Haley reflects his improved standing in the race in recent months. For most of last year, his fiercest criticism was reserved for DeSantis, but Haley has risen in the polls throughout the fall and winter. Trump continues to lead both candidates by wide margins in state and national polls.
Trump argued that his “Make America Great Again” movement had rescued the Republican Party from an elite political class that was trying to regain influence by keeping him out of office.
“There is no chance we are going to let them return to power,” Trump said.
