Nikki Haley was appointed by former President Donald Trump to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations… and now she’s slamming her former boss for his comments on foreign policy.
In a rally Saturday, Trump joked that the Russian military would “do whatever the hell they want” to nations falling short of NATO requirements for military funding. The former president called these nations “delinquent” for constantly spending less than the defense pacts 3% minimum of their GDP.
On the attack, Haley said she was “appalled” by his remarks, she told reporters Monday. She needled Trump for putting pressure on “our allies who were with us after 9/11.”
“Trump talked many times about getting out of NATO behind closed doors and publicly,” Haley told CNN, recalling her time in the Trump administration. “So that’s just a fact.”
Haley went on the offensive following the suspected murder of Russia’s opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
“Putin did this,” Haley said of Navalny’s death at the age of 47. “Do we want NATO [countries] to pay more? Of course, we do. But the last thing we’re doing to do is side with a thug… It is a mistake to side with Putin over our allies.
Take a look at Haley’s nasty attack —
Putin did this. The same Putin who Donald Trump praises and defends.
The same Trump who said:
“In all fairness to Putin, you’re saying he killed people. I haven’t seen that.” https://t.co/o1v3wBz1t7— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 16, 2024
Trump’s team has accused the Democrats of dismissing legitimate concerns about our allies’ halfhearted commitment to NATO, and they’ve faulted Biden for presiding during a period of increased Russian aggression.
“Democrat and media pearl-clutchers seem to have forgotten that we had four years of peace and prosperity under President Trump, but Europe saw death and destruction under Obama-Biden and now more death and destruction under Biden,” Trump adviser Jason Miller told the Associated Press.
Republicans allies in Congress dismissed Trump’s remarks as bravado.
“I was here when he was president,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said. “He didn’t undermine or destroy NATO.”
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., added, “I think I’ll look at what his actions are rather than what his words are.”
Once the governor of South Carolina, Haley is now running for president, but she has yet to win a single primary.
In Nevada’s symbolic race, Haley lost to “none of these candidates.” She’s hoping to rebound during her home state’s primary later this month.