Trump campaign connects Nikki Haley to Hillary Clinton in post-debate attack blitz

Former President Donald Trump targeted former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley following the second Republican primary debate on Wednesday, intensifying a rivalry that has mostly remained on the sidelines of both campaigns.

Trump’s campaign released a lengthy email, headed “The Real Nikki Haley,” that described the former South Carolina governor as weak on immigration and connected her to 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

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Trump’s team linked an interview of Haley’s 2012 sit-down with the New York Times that included a discussion about the lack of women in politics from her generation, to which Haley noted, “The reason I actually ran for office is because of Hillary Clinton.”

“Hillary Clinton Is an Inspiration to Nikki Haley,” the email read.

Trump’s campaign sent a similar email shortly after Haley launched her presidential bid for 2024, also bringing up Haley’s 2012 interview in which she praised Clinton, the former secretary of state.

“I guess Donald Trump feels threatened by Nikki Haley,” Ken Farnaso, a spokesman for Haley, told the Washington Examiner. 

The Republican front-runner blasted Haley’s foreign policy, which has been front and center in her 2024 campaign.

“Instead of Finding a Peaceful Solution to the Ukraine-Russia War, Haley Has Supported Sending More American Fighter Planes to Fuel the War,” the email stated, linking two 2022 interviews.

Haley has defended sending aid to Ukraine, stating it is crucial to the security of NATO, and has blasted Trump’s stance on the war in Ukraine.

“[Trump] used to be good on foreign policy, and now he has started to walk it back and get weak in the knees when it comes to Ukraine,” Haley said about Trump at a Portsmouth Rotary Club meeting in New Hampshire last week.

The presidential hopefuls who took the stage were quick to make their case against Trump, as Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie came out strong with remarks against Trump skipping the second debate for an event at an automotive supplier in Michigan to declare support for strikers. Haley stayed quiet on the topic.

Haley reiterated her stance on Trump being too friendly with China during his time in the Oval Office, stating he had a singular focus on the U.S.-China trade relationship.

“This is where President Trump went wrong,” Haley said Wednesday evening in Simi Valley. “He focused on trade with China. He didn’t focus on the fact that they were buying up our farmland. He didn’t focus on the fact that they were killing Americans,” Haley said.

“He didn’t focus on the fact that they were stealing $600 billion in intellectual property. He didn’t focus on the fact that they put a spy base off our shores in Cuba,” she added.

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Haley has been surging in recent surveys, polling above President Joe Biden in a hypothetical 2024 matchup, according to an NBC News poll that shows Biden tied with Trump among registered voters, 46% to 46%, but trailing Haley, 46% to 41%.

Trump’s campaign has been widely focused on his closest Republican rival, DeSantis, but his escalated criticism of Haley could point to his team shifting to a new threat in the 2024 race.