Nikki Haley mocks Trump at charity dinner
NEW YORK (AP) — Outgoing US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley poked fun at US President Donald Trump’s inflated ego and lack of selfawareness on Thursday night at the Al Smith Foundation annual dinner.
Haley, who announced her conscious uncoupling from the Trump administration last week, was the keynote speaker at the high-profile charity fundraiser in honor of the former governor of New York.
The former South Carolina governor, whose reasons for her split with the president still have not been fully explained, started her speech with a joke about Trump’s thin skin.
“Everyone in Washington called me with advice about this speech. They all said the same thing, do not under any circumstances make any jokes about the president. So, good night everybody,” she said to laughter from the crowd.
“Actually, the president called me this morning and gave me some really good advice,” she went on.
“He said if I get stuck for laughs, just brag about his accomplishment. It really killed at the UN, let me tell you,” Haley said.
The ambassador alluded to Trump’s controversial appearance at the Al Smith dinner two years ago just before he won the US presidential election. Trump and Hillary Clinton both sat at the dais, but he took what many believed were a few discourteous swipes at his Democratic rival.
“Two years ago President Trump was here and he made some waves with his remarks,” Haley said. “Apparently, no one here could have predicted that. Last year, you went with Paul Ryan, who’s a Boy Scout, which is all right, but a little boring. So this year you wanted to spice things up again. I get it, you wanted an Indian woman, but Elizabeth Warren failed her DNA test.”
She continued to poke fun at Trump’s cultural ignorance.
“Actually, when the president found out that I was Indian-American he asked me if I was from the same tribe as Elizabeth Warren.”
The ambassador also got laughs by describing Trump’s response to the recent Bob Woodward book and taking a shot at Democrats.
“The president got really mad at Bob Woodward’s book,” she said. “The book compared him to a fifth grader. A lot of Democrats seized on that, until they realized that they got beaten by fifth grader.”
The Al Smith Foundation, which provides education and health help to children and families, raised $3.9 million from the event.