Former President Donald Trump is linking former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley to the legacy of former President George W. Bush, whose popularity among Republicans fell in the Trump era.

In the final days of 2023, Trump’s campaign began shifting its aim from Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to Haley, who has seen the most momentum in 2024 primary polling of any of Trump’s rivals. Over social media and emails, Trump and his allies have tried to paint Haley’s candidacy as a return to Bush, who championed a brand of compassionate conservatism.

“Nikki Haley is ‘Bush in Heels,’” Trump surrogate Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, in drawing comparisons between Haley’s immigration and foreign policy positions to the 43rd president.

Haley became the latest threat when she surpassed DeSantis for the No. 2 spot in national polling and closed the gap with Trump in New Hampshire, which political scientists have noted has less religious and less conservative Republican electorates than most other states. Polls have found Haley to be boosted in particular by independent voters. The former South Carolina governor has additionally faced flak because of a $250,000 donation Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman made to a super PAC supporting her candidacy.

However, Haley has sought to dispel claims she isn’t conservative enough, pointing to her demonstrably Republican record as a legislator and governor in South Carolina.

During a CNN town hall event last week, Haley discussed her plans regarding immigration. She emphasized her roots in a state that relies on the agricultural and tourism industries and noted, “Our farmers needed workers. We need to make sure we are focusing on the businesses, that they are not struggling to find workers.”

“Our legal immigration system is completely broken,” according to the candidate.

“It shouldn’t take someone 10 years to become a citizen, and we need to be smart about how we do it,” she said.

She also criticized the system for allowing people from foreign countries to get educated in the United States but making it difficult for them to become citizens later. “Think about it: We have students that come from overseas, we educate them, and then we send them back home. I mean, that’s lunacy,” she claimed.

Her remarks drew comparisons to Bush’s 2004 proposal to allow foreign workers to be hired by employers in the U.S. to address labor shortages. During a speech at the time, Bush urged Congress to take up his proposal, which would give “legal status, as temporary workers, to the millions of undocumented men and women now employed in the United States, and to those in foreign countries who seek to participate in the program and have been offered employment here.”

Haley’s campaign did not tell the Washington Examiner whether she supported or would implement the policy laid out two decades ago by Bush. While Trump’s team might frame her immigration position as being less conservative, it was Trump who broke the norms by ushering in a combative way of speaking about border policy, warning the “invasion” of illegal immigrants is “poisoning” the blood of Americans.

The week following her town hall, Trump’s campaign sent out a “Kiss of Death” memo targeted at Haley. “KISS OF DEATH: Nikki Haley Revives Bush Amnesty Policies,” an email was titled.

According to Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung, Haley has revealed herself as an “open-border, pro-amnesty Bush acolyte.”

The campaign slammed her for endorsing Bush’s proposal while “more and more illegal immigrants flood across the border in record numbers.”

An article highlighting the Bush comparison on immigration policy was shared far and wide by Trump’s campaign, his 2024 surrogates, and a super PAC supporting his bid.

Republican strategist John Feehery predicted the effort to associate Haley with the former president would be harmful to her. “The Bush brand is pretty toxic with the vast majority of the base,” he explained.

For fellow GOP strategist Scott Jennings, the strategy “speaks to the larger question,” which he said is whether enough pre-Trump-style Republicans exist to support Haley.

“I’ve been dubious that there are,” he said.

Trump’s attack on Haley, specifically as it relates to immigration, “could dissuade undecided voters from supporting her,” Columbia University political science professor Robert Y. Shapiro said.

And while those undecided voters may not choose to back Trump, he noted, their nonsupport of Haley “would still benefit Trump.”

In the years following Bush’s presidency, his support among Republicans had grown, with the former president posting an 88% favorability among Republicans in 2015. But in the Trump era, his popularity within the party declined, dropping to 76% in 2018. Republican disapproval of Bush has also increased since 2015, going from 7% to 21%.

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However, among the public as a whole, Bush has become more favorable after leaving office. This increase was driven in particular by increased support from Democrats and independents.

Haley has done little to distance herself from the former president despite his unpopularity among Republicans and use in Trump’s new line of attack. Her campaign did not provide comment to the Washington Examiner regarding the criticism.