During a recent appearance on Fox News’ The Faulkner Focus, presidential hopeful Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) discussed the importance of providing aid to Ukraine to prevent a potential conflict with Russia. However, things took an uncomfortable turn when Haley brought up former President Donald Trump’s support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Haley expressed her concern about Putin’s ambitions, stating, “Putin said, once he takes Ukraine, Poland and the Baltics are next. These are NATO countries; that immediately puts America at war. This is about preventing war.” She advocated for supplying Ukraine with equipment and ammunition to avoid the need for further U.S. military intervention.
However, Haley then shifted the conversation to criticize Trump for supporting Putin, a move that visibly discomforted Fox News host Harris Faulkner. Haley claimed, “I’ll tell you what was really dangerous is, you had Donald Trump go and say that he would side with Putin over those NATO countries that aren’t pulling their weight.”
Faulkner, seeming uneasy with the Trump criticism, attempted to steer the conversation in a different direction. Haley continued to express her concerns about Trump’s stance, emphasizing that he “sided with a thug that kills his political opponents” and criticized him for favoring Putin over NATO allies.
Faulkner responded cautiously, acknowledging Haley’s perspective while defending Trump, noting, “This president didn’t have an invasion by Putin on his watch. The only one in recent presidents.” She tried to downplay the criticism and redirected the conversation, stating, “I can wait till you debate him or someone else along the way to give Americans, you say, deserve that choice.”
“The reason it matters so much, Harris, is because Putin said, once he takes Ukraine, Poland and the Baltics are next. These are NATO countries; that immediately puts America at war. This is about preventing war,” Haley said on The Faulkner Focus Thursday while defending aid to Ukraine. “We should give them the equipment and ammunition to win. It is only 3 1/2% of our defense budget and it saves us in the long run from having to send more resources or any men and women to do that. We don’t want war, and we’ve got to prevent it.”
Haley then went after Trump for supporting Putin, causing Faulkner to shift in her seat and attempt to pivot away from the Trump criticism.
HALEY: I’ll tell you what was really dangerous is, you had Donald Trump go and say that he would side with Putin over those NATO countries that aren’t pulling their weight. He even doubled down and said he would encourage Putin to invade those countries that aren’t pulling their weight. We can’t have that kind of language when he goes off script from the teleprompter, because you have to look at the fact that Trump just sided with a thug that kills his political opponents.
FAULKNER: Well —
HARRIS: He just sided with a man who arrests American journalists and holds them hostage.
FAULKNER: Yeah —
HALEY: He sided with him over the allies who stood with us at 9/11.
FAULKNER: Ambassador —
HALEY: Let’s be careful.
FAULKNER: I understand you take it that way and that that’s what you heard. And we’ll have to see how all of this plays out. This president didn’t have an invasion by Putin on his watch. The only one in recent presidents. So, there is that to be said about it.
The exchange highlighted the tension surrounding discussions of Trump’s foreign policy decisions, particularly his relationship with Putin. Faulkner, as a host on Fox News, appeared uncomfortable with the criticism directed at the former president, reflecting the complex dynamics within conservative media regarding Trump’s legacy and actions.
