Nikki Haley seized on former President Donald Trump's claims that she was “unelectable” by blaming him for the Republican Party's loss of the presidency and both chambers of Congress in 2020.
At a rally ahead of the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, Trump told his supporters that both Haley and Ron DeSantis were “unelectable” against President Joe Biden.
He pointed to Haley and DeSantis' support for a 23 percent sales tax and said, “I think that makes them unelectable. “And there are other reasons they're unelectable,” but said Democrats would support it , because the party wanted them to run against him.
At an event in Hollis, New Hampshire, on Thursday, Haley lashed out at Trump, who leads her by 16 points in the latest New Hampshire poll, over his own failures in the election.
“The reality is who lost the House for us?” Who lost the Senate? Who lost the White House? “Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Donald Trump,” she said.
Nikki Haley seized on former President Donald Trump's claims that she was “unelectable” by blaming him for the Republican Party's loss of the presidency and both chambers of Congress in 2020
“Nikki Haley will win every single one of these back for us,” she added, attempting to mock him for not showing up to the debates.
Haley has often emphasized that Republicans have lost the majority in all but one election since 1988.
But it was the first time she blamed the GOP's defeats entirely on the man who led her party after winning the party's nomination in 2016.
Trump reiterated at the same event in New Hampshire that he believes the 2020 election was “rigged.”
However, in December, an exclusive /JL Partners poll found Trump was the Republican candidate best able to beat Biden in the critical swing states of Arizona and Georgia, although Haley could beat the Democrat in Wisconsin.
The results undermine one of Florida Governors Ron DeSantis and Haley's main arguments: that they are more electable than Trump.
In fact, 's swing states poll showed Trump beating Biden by five points in Arizona, but DeSantis could only draw and Haley lost by two points.
In Georgia, Trump beat Biden by two points in a head-to-head race, but DeSantis lost by six points and Haley by one.
Things are different in Wisconsin. There, Biden would beat Trump and DeSantis by four points if the 2024 election were held tomorrow, but would lose to Haley by one percentage point.
JL Partners surveyed 550 likely voters in each of the three key swing states: Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin. The results have an error rate of 4.2 percent
Trump has a lead over Biden in Georgia (where the Democrat won by just 0.2 percentage points in 2020), but Haley and DeSantis trail in our 2024 intentions poll
There's good news for Haley in Wisconsin. Our poll suggests that in an election tomorrow she would beat Biden in a head-to-head matchup, while DeSantis and Trump would lose
All results have a margin of error of 4.2 percent, but show that Trump is the strongest Republican challenger to Biden in at least two of the key battleground states.
To have a shot at becoming the incumbent president, however, Haley will have to destroy the long odds of beating his predecessor in the primary, a chance that seems greater by the day after Trump dominated the Iowa Caucus.
Trump appears to be headed for another big win in New Hampshire next week, even though Haley's backer, Gov. Chris Sununu, previously told his candidate would win.
The poll showed Trump polling at 50 percent in the Granite State, just days after he claimed victory in the Iowa caucuses.
Haley, his main rival in the state, was at 34 percent in the new Suffolk University/Boston Globe/NBC-10 poll, 16 points behind the leader after finishing third in Iowa.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who edged out Haley for second place in Iowa, was at 5 percent.
Another recent WHDH-TV/Emerson poll also had Trump with a 16-point lead, but New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was still in the race at the time. Christie's departure has raised expectations that much of the anti-Trump candidate's supporters would flock to Haley.
New Hampshire is crucial to Haley's own battle plans to unseat Trump. The state allows independent voters to cast ballots in the GOP primary.
Former President Donald Trump leads his rival Nikki Haley by 16 points in a new poll of likely voters in New Hampshire
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who edged out Haley for second place in Iowa, was at 5 percent
Trump has a commanding lead in a new poll
Trump's campaign also began targeting Haley on issues ranging from taxes to Social Security — even going after her by saying she “loves China.”
This criticism comes from her time as UN ambassador – during the Trump administration.
While representing America as ambassador to the United Nations, Haley described communist China as “a really great friend of ours,” according to the press release, which featured a clip during Trump's own meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. to create more pressure on North Korea.
Trump also criticized Haley on Tuesday evening, accusing her of exploiting the party's election rules.
“Nikki Haley in particular is betting on Democrats and liberals to infiltrate your Republican primary,” Trump told an enthusiastic crowd at Atkinson Country Club.
“You know that the left…that's what's happening…is attracting a group of people who aren't Republicans, and that's artificially increasing their numbers here, even though we're still well ahead of them.”
Haley performed better in the poll among independents, receiving 44 percent support to his 38 percent. But he increased the number of Republicans and conservatives.
Even in hypothetical general election campaigns, Trump is still ahead of Biden.
A Harris/The Messenger poll suggested that while it's not a landslide victory, he is currently expected to win a clear victory in the popular vote if the election were held today.
The poll shows Trump leading Biden by a 52-48 margin compared to the other candidates.
Another poll, which included choices for RFK Jr., Jill Stein and Cornel West, showed Trump defeating Biden 43 to 40, with Kennedy leading the rest of the field with 12 percent.