Nikki Haley denounced former President Donald J. Trump in an interview on Sunday for his indignant responses to his authorized losses and instructed that his pressuring of congressional Republicans to not comply with a border-security deal earlier than the election was a purely political ploy.
“The last thing he needs to do is tell them to wait to pass a border deal until the election,” she stated on NBC’s “Meet the Press” of Mr. Trump’s efforts to cease a bipartisan effort within the Senate that had been gaining momentum. “We can’t wait one more day.”
Ms. Haley additionally instructed that she trusted the conclusions of jurors who discovered him chargeable for sexual abuse, however refused to name the decision disqualifying, saying voters ought to determine.
“I absolutely trust the jury, and I think that they made their decision based on the evidence,” Ms. Haley stated, referring to the jury that found Mr. Trump liable last year for sexually abusing the author E. Jean Carroll. A separate jury concluded last week that he owed Ms. Carroll greater than $83 million for defaming her.
However when the present’s host, Kristen Welker, pressed Ms. Haley on whether or not she believed the jury findings had been “disqualifying,” she deflected.
“We don’t need to take over anything that the American people have the right to do,” she stated, including, “I think the American people will take him off the ballot. I think that’s the best way to go forward, is not let him play the victim. Let him play the loser.”
Nonetheless, Ms. Haley teed off on Mr. Trump’s responses to the jury verdict to ship a pointy critique of his way of thinking and health for workplace.
The American individuals “see that he’s completely distracted, they see that he’s going on these rants about how he’s the victim, and I think that’s exactly what we don’t need a strong leader to be,” Ms. Haley stated. “That’s not what you want a president to be, but more than that, that’s not what we want Russia to see, that’s not what we want China to see and that’s not what we want Iran to see.”
Ms. Haley, who served as United Nations ambassador throughout the Trump administration, framed Mr. Trump’s racist attacks against her in the identical context. Referring to his repeated use and botching of her given identify, Nimarata, and his false strategies that she isn’t eligible to be president as a result of her dad and mom are from India (Ms. Haley was born in South Carolina), she stated: “I laugh every time I see one of his tweets, every time I see him throw a temper tantrum, because I know Donald Trump very well. When he feels insecure, he starts to rail, he starts to rant, he starts to flail his arms and he starts to get upset.
“When he feels threatened, he starts to throw all kinds of things out there,” she continued. “I would always tell him he was his own worst enemy. He’s proving that right now.”
Ms. Haley additionally denounced the Republican Nationwide Committee for throwing its help behind Mr. Trump earlier than most states have voted. Requested whether or not the R.N.C. had been an “honest broker” within the Republican major, she stated, “Clearly not,” criticizing the committee’s chairwoman, Ronna McDaniel, for saying the occasion ought to unite behind Mr. Trump after his wins in Iowa and New Hampshire.
“You can’t do that based on just two states,” she stated.
Ms. Haley additionally sought to calibrate expectations for her efficiency within the South Carolina major subsequent month, saying that she didn’t suppose she needed to win outright, however that she wanted to exceed the 43 p.c she obtained in New Hampshire.
“I need to show that I’m building momentum,” she stated, including: “Does that have to be a win? I don’t think that necessarily has to be a win. But it certainly has to be better than what I did in New Hampshire, and it certainly has to be close.”
