Former President Donald Trump released a statement critical of fellow 2024 Republican Presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
Haley, who served as Governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and also served a short stint as the Ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration from 2017 to 2018.
The former President’s statement consisted of a series of Haley’s previous statements and policy positions including a 2012 statement in which the former South Carolina Governor suggested Hillary Clinton was an inspiration.
“The reason I actually ran for office is because of Hillary Clinton,” Haley said in an interview with the New York Times.
🚨Breaking News: President Trump releases new statement on Nikki Haley. pic.twitter.com/HDP7gZZCg6
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) February 15, 2023
The statement detailed Haley’s previous support for former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan’s plans to reform Medicare and Social Security.
“What they need to be doing is looking at entitlements,” Haley said in a 2010 interview with Fox News. “Look at Social Security. Look at Medicaid. Look at Medicare. Look at these things, and let’s actually go to the heart of what is causing government to grow, and tackle that,” said Haley, according to Trump’s statement.
Trump’s statement further highlighted an April 2020 tweet from Haley expressing her interest in reforming the social security programs.
“The pandemic is expected to weigh on the financial condition of Social Security, which is currently projected to pay benefits that exceed its income in 2021 for the first time in nearly 40 years. Time for Congress to start cutting not spending.”
The pandemic is expected to weigh on the financial condition of Social Security, which is currently projected to pay benefits that exceed its income in 2021 for the first time in nearly 40 years.
Time for Congress to start cutting not spending.https://t.co/Rr3lGOJ4MF— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) April 23, 2020
The statement transitioned to Haley’s support for Ukraine by detailing an April 2022 tweet in which the former Trump administration Ambassador encouraged President Biden to give Ukraine planes to assist them during the Russian invasion of the country.
Biden must give Ukraine what they're asking for: planes. pic.twitter.com/pwG1AwgSme
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) March 28, 2022
Haley further suggested the Russian invasion “never would have happened” under President Trump in a March 2022 appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press.
“What I will tell you about President Trump is as much as everybody wants to talk about what he says, what I look at is what he did. He sanctioned Russia. He expelled diplomats. He shut off Nord Stream 2, which is all Putin ever wanted. He built up our military. And he made us energy independent,” Haley said of the former President. “All of those things countered Putin and countered Russia. He built up our military. And he made us energy independent. All of those things countered Putin and countered Russia. This never would have happened under Trump.”
Trump also highlighted Haley’s stance on immigration, referring to her opinions critical of ending birthright citizenship and building a wall along the southern United States border.
The statement highlighted a September 2022 audio clip from the former Governor suggesting “Legal immigrants [were] often more patriotic than most Americans.”
Haley’s tweet replaced her statement regarding “Americans” with “the left.”
Legal immigrants are often more patriotic than the Left these days. Instead of bashing America, they know that in this country, you can work hard and be anything you want to be. pic.twitter.com/soyciVjgzr
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) September 8, 2022
The statement further noted that Haley previously said she would not run for office should the former President seek a third bid for office, citing an April 2021 Breitbart article in which Haley said she would support Trump should he choose to run in the future.
“I would not run if President Trump ran,” Haley reportedly said in an April 2021 tweet, though the post appears to have since been deleted.
Trump noted his own successes in comparison with Haley’s position as Ambassador to the United Nations, citing the 2017 return of Otto Warmbier after he was held in North Korea for 17 months during the Obama administration for allegedly stealing a poster in one of the country’s hotels.
Haley announced she would seek the Republican nomination in the 2024 Presidential Race on Tuesday. The former Ambassador will face off against Trump in the Republican Primary, who announced his third bid for office late last year.
