Former President Donald Trump went after his former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany for her comments that he should focus his campaign on the general election.
McEnany said on Fox News on Tuesday night that Trump should stop talking about fellow GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley and move on to courting centrist Republican and independent voters for the general election. Trump slammed McEnany as a “RINO,” or a “Republican in name only,” and said that she should save her advice for Haley.
“I don’t need any advice from RINO Kayleigh McEnany on Fox. Just had a GIANT VICTORY over a badly failing candidate, ‘Birdbrain,’ and she’s telling me what I can do better. Save your advice for Nikki!” Trump posted late Tuesday night.
He later complained about Fox News’s coverage of his New Hampshire victory, comparing it to coverage by CNN and MSNBC, which he called “MSDNC.”
“CNN & MSDNC TREATED MY BIG, DOUBLE DIGIT VICTORY OVER BIRDBRAIN, BETTER THAN FOX!” Trump posted.
McEnany had warned about vulnerabilities the former president may have in a general election matchup against President Joe Biden, noting data from exit polls conducted by the network.
“If I’m Trump, I sit back, and I exclusively focus on the general election. I take the posture of a presumptive nominee. I focus on, No. 1, uniting the party, and No. 2, winning the independents, which Nikki Haley won 55%-39%,” McEnany said. “That’s what I would do.”
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McEnany added that Biden performed better within his party when primary voters were asked if they would not vote for him. The Fox News exit poll showed 10% of Democratic primary voters would not vote for Biden in the general election. Alternatively, roughly 7 in 10 Haley voters in New Hampshire said they would not vote for Trump in the general election.
Trump defeated Haley in the New Hampshire Republican primary by a roughly 11% margin, more than a week after he defeated both Haley and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) by roughly 30% in Iowa. DeSantis dropped out after his distant second-place finish in Iowa, but Haley appears likely to continue her campaign through at least South Carolina’s GOP primary at the end of February.
