Former president Donald Trump explained his Jan. 19 gaffe in which he confused former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley for Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), claiming the incident was intentional.
Trump offered his explanation at a North Charleston, South Carolina rally on Wednesday, just 10 days before the Feb. 24 Palmetto State primary.
“It’s very hard to be sarcastic when I interpose,” Trump said. “I’m not a Nikki fan, and I’m not a Pelosi fan. And when I purposely interpose names, they said, ‘He didn’t know Pelosi from Nikki from tricky Nikki, tricky Dicky.’”
“I interpose, and they make a big deal out of it. I said, ‘No, no, I think they both stink, they have something in common, they both stink.”
The former president also confirmed at his rally that he will not be selecting Haley as his 2024 running mate. “And remember this, when I make a statement like that about Nikki, that means she will never be running for vice president,” he declared.
Critics were quick to point out that in his explanation for mixing up Haley and Pelosi, Trump misused the word “interpose.” Contextually, it would have been more accurate for Trump to have said he “transposed” the two politicians, as that would signify his intention to use their names interchangeably.
I think I get it. He *transposes* the names of people he hates because they’re all the same to him?
Yeah, no. Even if he could say it coherently, it doesn’t stand to reason.
— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) February 15, 2024
In addressing his New Hampshire supporters, Trump suggested on Jan. 19 that “Nikki Haley [was] in charge of security” during the Jan. 6, 2020, riot at the Capitol.
“By the way, they never report the crowd on Jan. 6,” he said. “You know Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley. You know they — do you know they destroyed all of the information, all of the evidence, everything, deleted and destroyed all of it. All of it.”
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Haley responded to Trump’s claim by noting, “I wasn’t in D.C. on Jan. 6th … I had nothing to do with the Capitol.” In addressing Trump’s confusion, she said, “When you’re 80, that’s what happens. You’re just not as sharp as you used to be.”
The pair of 2024 Republican rivals are set to face off in Haley’s home state on Feb. 24 in South Carolina’s primary. Trump is leading Haley in the polls for this contest by an average of nearly 33 points, 66.1% to 30.3%.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Trump and Haley for comment.