‘We shouldn’t have followed him’
Haley criticizes Trump, believes former president has no future in GOP
Nikki Haley, a UN ambassador under former U.S. president Donald Trump who left his administration without the drama or ill will that marred most of its high-level departures, sharply criticized her former boss in an interview published Friday, saying that she was “disgusted” by his conduct Jan. 6, the day of the Capitol riot.
Haley, 49, who is widely believed to be considering a run for president in 2024, told Politico that she did not believe the former president would remain a dominant force within the Republican Party or that he would seek office again, arguing that he had “lost any sort of political viability.”
“I don’t think he’s going to be in the picture,” Haley said. “I don’t think he can. He’s fallen so far.”
Haley’s comments predictably prompted a backlash from Trump’s loyal base of support, a constituency that most Republican office-holders continue to try to appease — and one that she had assiduously tried to avoid offending since leaving his administration at the end of 2018.
Before her latest comments became public, Haley seemed to realize that they would go too far for many Republicans. And it was not long before she bowed to the reality of Trump’s enduring power within the party. In an interview with Laura Ingraham of Fox News that was broadcast late last month — after Haley had spoken to Politico, but before the article was published — Haley muted her criticism of the former president
considerably.
“At some point, I mean, give the man a break,” she said, condemning Democrats for pursuing a second impeachment against him for instigating the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. “I mean, move on.” She added, “Does he deserve to be impeached? Absolutely not.”
But the storming of the Capitol last month, and Trump’s role in inciting it with repeated, false claims of ballot-rigging in the November election, caused Haley to reassess her relationship with the former president. Her tone changed markedly between interviews with Politico in December and January. At first, she refused to acknowledge that Trump was doing anything reckless by refusing to concede. She said that he genuinely believed he had not lost,
and she would not acknowledge that his actions since the November election were irresponsible.
And she wrongly predicted that Trump would “go on his way” once he had exhausted his legal options.
But after Jan. 6, Haley told the publication that she had previously urged Trump to be more “careful” with his words, to no avail.
“He went down a path he shouldn’t have,” she said, referring to his deception about the election. “And we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t let that ever happen again.”
In that moment, Haley’s remarks showed that she was willing to entertain a political proposition that most other Republicans
with eyes on the White House had not dared to utter publicly: that Trump’s hold over the GOP base will loosen, and that he will not be the kingmaker many have predicted.
Haley was especially pointed about Trump’s treatment of former vice-president Mike Pence, sounding almost dismissive of the former president as she expressed her dismay. “Mike has been nothing but loyal to that man,” she said.
Some Republicans said Haley’s comments were simply acknowledging reality. As a politician who is more comfortable with the establishment wing of the GOP, she has not always had the trust of Trump’s base. And in a crowded 2024 presidential primary, she would face stiff competition for those votes.