According to Mediate, former President Donald Trump, in an email sent after the second 2024 Republican primary debate, criticized his rival Nikki Haley and sought to draw a connection between her and his previous opponent Hillary Clinton.
In the email titled “The Real Nikki Haley,” the Trump campaign highlighted a series of past quotes from Haley, whom Trump had appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in 2017. The campaign claimed, “Hillary Clinton Is an Inspiration to Nikki Haley,” referencing a 2012 New York Times article where Haley stated, “The reason I actually ran for office is because of Hillary Clinton.”
The email went on to criticize Haley for her positions, including advocating for sending more American fighter planes to support Ukraine, being perceived as weak on immigration for not supporting a southern border wall in 2015, raising concerns about Medicare and Social Security, and changing her stance on running for president if Trump were also in the race.
NBC News reporter Allan Smith noted on Twitter that it seemed Team Trump considered there was a new contender in second place following the debate.
During the debate, Haley took a combative stance against rivals Vivek Ramaswamy and Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), positioning herself as the most hawkish candidate on China and TikTok.
After the debate, Haley led the Drudge Report’s poll with 37%, holding an 18% lead over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who was in second place with 19%, at the time of reporting.
