The heat is rising in the 2024 Republican presidential primary between candidates. The most recent GOP debate and town halls that followed have the top challengers trading barbs.
Former President Donald Trump is known for slapping labels on rivals. His campaign let loose with a doozy on former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. Her recent answers to questions regarding the border crisis, U.S. citizenship, and foreign issues have people criticizing her policy proposals.
Trump’s team characterized Haley as a return the legacy of former President George W. Bush. The label the team applied was stinging.
From the Washington Examiner:
“Nikki Haley is ‘Bush in Heels,’” was the stinger leveled at Haley by Trump surrogate Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
Greene fired off the barb on X, formerly known as Twitter. Her assessment promoted comparisons between Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, and Bush, the 43rd president, whose administration began the extended fighting in the Middle East.
“(Haley) can’t wait to send our sons to die in every foreign war that establishment Washington lusts to fund, fight, and send American troops to kill and be killed,” Greene posted online. “She won’t defend our border, she’ll defend everyone else’s border and we’ll pay the ultimate price.”
Haley appears to be the top target of Trump’s campaign after her surge in the polls heading into key early primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire. She surpassed DeSantis for the second place spot in national polling. She also closed with single digits of Trump in New Hampshire in some polls.
Political analysts have assessed that New Hampshire has less religious and less conservative Republican electorates than most other states. Haley’s campaign has also been boosted by independent voters.
Criticism of Haley extends beyond barbs on the fly by Trump surrogates. Haley has faced flak following a quarter of a million-dollar donation from Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman to a super PAC helping fund her candidacy.
Haley has countered the criticisms by pointing to her considerable voting and policy record as a legislator and governor in South Carolina. Her thoughts on a path to citizenship may not win over many strong Trump supporters.
She believes it “shouldn’t take someone 10 years to become a citizen” and the country shouldn’t make it hard for foreign students to gain citizenship after getting educated in the U.S. She said educating these students and then sending them back home is “lunacy.”
Haley’s stance on immigration is credited with resembling a proposed plan by Bush. He suggested granting legal status to millions of undocumented people who are in the country as “temporary workers.”
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung has stated that Haley has revealed herself as an “open-border, pro-amnesty Bush acolyte.”
Key Takeaways:
- Trump political campaign team labeled GOP rival Nikki Haley as ‘Bush in Heels.’
- The moniker compares her to pro-amnesty positions of former president Bush.
- The barb comes as Haley gained ground on Trump in early primary states.
Source: Washington Examiner
