An angry Nikki Haley urged former President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans to stop their attacks on Kamala Harris and instead focus on their policy positions, saying Americans are too smart to get involved in “things that don’t matter.”
“I want this campaign to win, but it’s not going to win by talking about crowd size,” she told Fox News’ Bret Baier on Tuesday night. “It’s not going to win by talking about what race Kamala Harris is. It’s not going to win by talking about whether she’s stupid.”
Haley, who served as UN ambassador in the Trump administration, has had a difficult relationship with the former president since she withdrew from the race for the Republican nomination. But she endorsed him at the Republican National Convention last month, saying that while she had not agreed with him “100 percent of the time,” he knew what was best for the nation.
Her comments come at a time when the Trump campaign is growing frustrated with the rise of Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The two have enjoyed huge surges in the polls amid packed stadiums and hundreds of millions of dollars in fundraising.
Haley acknowledged that Harris has strong appeal among undecided voters and is attracted to her vision, something Trump has so far failed to do.
“What they like about Kamala is that she gives hope, she talks about freedom, she talks about a way forward,” she said. “They don’t want a former president talking about the past.”
Trump falsely claimed that some crowds at Harris’ rallies were generated by artificial intelligence and called her an “impostor.” He also sparked fierce criticism when he alluded to a room full of black journalists that the vice president “accidentally turned black” to score political points.
Haley said Tuesday that these lines of attack would only alienate the voters Republicans need to beat Biden in November.
“We need him to win, but you have to go out and do the work, and Republicans have to do one thing: stop whining about them,” she said. “More than anything, this is not an election that’s just about MAGA voters. Trust me, Donald Trump has them.”
“Republicans must fight for suburban women, for college graduates, for independents, for moderate Republicans and conservative Democrats.”
She added that Republicans have long known that Harris would replace Biden when the president ended his own re-election campaign and that it was time to stop “complaining” about her being the Democratic nominee.
“Republicans shouldn’t be surprised that we’re now running against Kamala Harris,” Haley said. “She’s been the one all along.”