Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley slammed her GOP primary rival, former President Donald Trump, for attacking the absence of her husband — who is currently deployed — as she campaigns.
Trump mockingly asked where her husband went during a rally in South Carolina on Saturday. Haley’s husband, Michael Haley, was deployed in June 2023 to Africa for a year with the South Carolina Army National Guard. Nikki Haley called Trump’s comments “insulting to military families” on CBS News’s Face the Nation on Sunday.
“It’s just — it’s insulting to military members. It’s insulting to military families. And the part that bothers me is that he continues to do this. This isn’t personal about me and Michael, this is about what it says to every member who sacrifices for us. This is about what it says to every military family who sacrifices alongside of them.”
“We can’t have someone who sits there and mocks our men and women who are trying to protect America. It’s a pattern. It’s a pattern of chaos. It’s a pattern of irresponsibility; it’s a pattern of just saying things that are not helpful in strengthening America,” she added.
Haley’s campaign has also sent out multiple emails regarding Trump’s comments about her husband, with one focusing on Trump’s former Secretary of State Mark Esper’s criticism of the former president’s attack.
“So look, her husband’s serving honorably; I don’t know why he would attack him like that. It just doesn’t make any sense. And look, we also know Melania [Trump] hasn’t been on the road with the former president, so none of this adds up. I give Nikki Haley credit for her response: very tough, very firm. So, good for her,” Esper said during an appearance on CNN.
Haley then went on to say that Trump’s campaign is about him, rather than issues the country is facing, and how President Joe Biden is “diminished.”
“This is a chance America is gonna get to decide. We know what Donald Trump is. You could watch that whole rally yesterday and it’ll tell you all kinds of things. But the thing is, do you want it again? We know what Joe Biden is. You can see the press conference, you can look at the special investigation that says he’s diminished, but do you want it again?” she added.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Michael Haley also responded to Trump’s attack on him with a meme that took a swing at the former president in a Saturday post on X.
“The difference between humans and animals? Animals would never allow the dumbest ones to lead the pack,” the meme read.
