Like any woman that doesn't worship him like the god he thinks he is, Nikki Haley has gotten under Donald Trump's skin. Trump, after winning the New Hampshire presidential primary over Haley by double digits, instead of giving a magnanimous speech as he had a few days earlier after winning Iowa, spent most of his victory speech ripping into her. Previously he had childishly called her "birdbrain", in this speech he decided to insult her outfit ("I watched her in that fancy dress, that probably wasn't so fancy"). But in his usual morass of lies and boasts, he also stumbled on a truth when he said that Haley was"doing like a speech like she won,” though “she didn’t win, she lost.”
The thing that obviously needles Trump the most is that Haley did not immediately endorse him after losing. Ron DeSantis, who for over a year had been seen as Trump's biggest possible challenger for the Republican Presidential nomination, immediately endorsed him after losing in Iowa. But Haley, even though she came in third behind Trump and DeSantis, decided to continue her campaign, saying that she was polling well in New Hampshire. And she continued her campaign after New Hampshire, even though the path ahead looks impossible for her. Let's face it, the majority of the Republican party faithful still adore Trump, think that he won in 2020 and that he can't lose in 2024. The idea that a woman, particularly one of color, would take Trump's place, even if she's doing better in polls agains Biden than Trump is, is crazy.
In the past few years, Haley has acted like a lot of Republicans since Trump arrived. At one point in 2016 she said of him, “I will not stop until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the KKK. That is not a part of our party, that is not who we want as president. We we allow not allow that in our country.” And like so many other Republicans (like say Senators Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham) she quickly forgot all her criticisms of him once he won and eventually she accepted a job in his regime as US ambassador to the United Nations. But unlike so many people who worked in the Trump administration, she was not forced out, found guilty of a crime, or left because she couldn't stand him. (Perhaps because as UN ambassador, I doubt she dealt with Trump a lot directly). Really, she's one of the few people to encounter Trump and emerge unscathed and relatively complimentary of him.
At first as a candidate, Haley was reluctant to openly criticize Trump, only making a few mild jabs at his age. But now with DeSantis gone, it seems like the gloves are off: she recently referred to him as "totally unhinged", and attacked his mental acuity. Given that there's no way that Trump will ever forgive her for staying in the race and going after him, it seems possible that Haley has now thrown herself into the "never Trump" camp, even if she won's admit it. While she has no chance of winning, her words (which will inevitably wind up in numerous attack ads against Trump), may hurt Trump with those crucial suburban women voters that can turn an election, especially, if Trump continues to make usual misogynistic comments about her. The important question is, after she loses, will Haley support Trump, or will she just offer no endorsement of either candidate? Is it possible that she could even endorse Joe Biden? I doubt it, but then, fellow Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie has already, so it's not impossible. Whatever happens, given how close the 2024 election appears that it will be, Haley may help turn the tide against Trump.
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