Former President Donald Trump went after former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in a series of Truth Social posts late Tuesday and early Wednesday that culminated in her face being photoshopped onto Hillary Clinton.
Despite Haley’s third-place showing in the Iowa Republican caucus, Trump has kept a steady focus on attacking her—especially in the lead-up to the Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary, where recent polls show a much closer race compared to Iowa, with Haley on average just 13 points behind the former president.
Even though Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) edged out Haley by 2% to secure second place in Iowa, all of Trump’s posts regarding his primary opponents since the caucus have focused on Haley.
“Anyone listening to Nikki ‘Nimrada‘ Haley’s wacked out speech last night, would think that she won the Iowa primary,” Trump wrote on Tuesday. “She didn’t, and she couldn’t even beat a very flawed Ron DeSanctimonious, who’s out of money, and out of hope. Nikki came in a distant THIRD!”
Trump continued: “She said she would never run against me, ‘he was a great President,’ and she should have followed her own advice. Now she’s stuck with WEAK POLICIES, and a VERY STRONG MAGA BASE, and there’s just nothing she can do!”
He later posted video clips of his speech in which he encouraged people who want a nominee
“endorsed by all the RINOS, globalists, and demented Never Trumpers” to vote for Haley and accused her of “counting on the Democrats and liberals to infiltrate” the GOP primary.
Trump went on to post several images accusing Haley of wanting to raise the retirement age, increase state gas tax, and of being “the establishment candidate who is loved by Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney.”
The posting culminated with an image of Haley’s face superimposed onto Clinton, along with Clinton’s signature H campaign logo stating “Haley.”
Trump’s captionless post was likely a reference to the ongoing comparisons Haley has faced from critics likening her to Clinton.
A pro-DeSantis super PAC in November released an ad seeking to tie Haley to Clinton, calling the ex-Secretary of State Haley’s “role model.”
Similarly, ahead of the Iowa caucus, Donald Trump Jr. said Haley was “basically the same” as Clinton and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) wrote on X that “Nikki Haley is basically Hillary Clinton.”
Haley has indeed attributed Clinton as helping her decide to get into politics, despite her not agreeing with her politics or “anything that she has to say.”
