In an interview on Fox News Sunday, anchor Shannon Bream confronted Senator Tim Scott about former President Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on Nikki Haley. Bream listed instances where Trump had targeted Haley, including birther smears, mocking her husband who is deployed in Africa, and giving her the nickname “bird brain.” Bream also cited concerns raised by The Wall Street Journal about Trump potentially alienating Haley’s supporters.
Scott rejected the notion that Trump’s attacks on Haley were disproportionate, arguing that Haley and her camp have also engaged in aggressive rhetoric against him. He claimed that there has been chatter from the Haley camp, including references to him as Judas Iscariot, which he interpreted as matching or even surpassing the rhetoric from the Trump side.
He says things like she may not be eligible to run,” Bream said. “Suggesting she wasn’t born in the U.S., which she was. He calls her bird brain. He made comments about her husband being on military deployment as if he was trying to get away from her. The Wall Street Journal says this — ‘he seems to have forgotten if he ever cared, that he will need some of her admirers to vote for him in November.’ Talking about centrist Republicans, independents, even Democrats who voted for her. Is President Trump writing them off? Where does he think her supporters will go if he continues to attack her like that?”
Trump has recently fueled a conspiracy theory questioning Haley’s eligibility to run for president and mocked her husband Michael, who is currently serving in the National Guard overseas. At a rally, Trump even asked about Haley’s husband, adding to the criticism he directed at her.
“We see the Haley camp and the family referring to me as Judas Iscariot,” Scott said. “We’re hearing a lot of chatter out of the Haley camp, not only just matching the rhetoric from the Trump side, but actually going further.”
The interview highlighted the ongoing tension within the Republican Party, with Haley caught in the crossfire between Trump and other GOP figures.
