Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) took shots at former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley‘s past stances on China, claiming that she was “China’s favorite governor.”
Mace was speaking in support of former President Donald Trump, Haley’s Republican presidential primary rival, in the Palmetto State and claimed Haley would want China to be producing spy balloons in South Carolina — a reference to the Chinese spy balloon incident last year.
.@NancyMace: “Nikki Haley is China’s favorite governor. And in fact, if she had her way, South Carolina would be manufacturing spy balloons right here in our state.” pic.twitter.com/8bJeSflYag
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) February 2, 2024
“She rolled out the red carpet for communist China when she was governor, in fact she gave away our land for free. She said, as governor, that Chinese workers could teach a thing or two to South Carolina workers,” Mace added.
Trump’s campaign has attacked Haley for her past cooperation with China while governor of South Carolina from 2011 until 2017.
While governor, Haley recruited Chinese companies to build manufacturing plants in the state. She has also come under scrutiny for a 2007 trip to the World Economic Forum in China when she was a state lawmaker, where Haley said she was “proud” of the economic lessons she learned while there.
Haley’s 2024 pitch has projected a tough stance on China, with an advertisement from a super PAC supporting the former governor dubbing her “the conservative China fears most” and touting her time as ambassador to the United Nations under the Trump administration.
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Mace, who has endorsed Trump for the 2024 presidential election, was supported by Haley in 2022 when Trump endorsed an opponent in the congresswoman’s GOP primary. Mace called Haley a “rock star” among other compliments during Mace’s successful 2022 reelection campaign to the House of Representatives.
The South Carolina Republican presidential primary is scheduled for Feb. 24, while the Democratic presidential primary in the state is scheduled for Saturday.