In response to tightening polls in New Hampshire, former President Donald Trump has reverted to a familiar tactic to sway Republican voters: employing racialized dog whistles against his opponent. This time, the target is former UN Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
Haley, born in the US to Indian parents who immigrated in 1964, went by the name Nimarata Nikki Randhawa before taking her husband’s last name. Despite her consistent use of her middle name, Nikki, which means “little one” in Punjabi, Trump has chosen to refer to her as Nimrata, employing a tactic similar to his attacks on former President Barack Obama by repeatedly using his middle name, Hussein.
Even though Trump had appointed Haley as his UN Ambassador and praised her during his administration, he now employs racially charged attacks on her heritage as she gains ground in the New Hampshire polls. Trump has recently started calling her “Nimrada,” a move widely seen as an overtly otherizing and race-based assault on her background.
In a recent social media post, Trump used a juvenile insult, calling her “Nimbra,” and criticized New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu for endorsing her. The post also included disparaging remarks about Haley’s stance on China, Russia, borders, and crime, concluding with a “Make America Great Again” slogan.
While criticizing a political rival’s policies and endorsements is within the realm of fair play, mocking their ethnic ancestry through name-calling is considered inappropriate and disrespectful. This behavior is consistent with Trump’s past tactics, drawing attention to his penchant for personal attacks and divisive rhetoric.
Governor Chris Sununu, the now failing Governor of New Hampshire, where I am beating his endorsed candidate, Nimbra, by big numbers, and DeSanctimonious by even bigger numbers, should spend more time keeping Democrats from voting in the Republican Primary – How ridiculous is that? Anyway, it doesn’t matter, because Nimbra doesn’t have what it takes. She’s weak on China, Russia, Borders, and Crime, but never saw a war she didn’t like. I defeated ISIS, Rebuilt our Military, and brought our soldiers back home. I hope Sununu’s endorsement of Nimbra has more strength than Kim Reynolds’ Iowa endorsement of DeSanctus! How did that work out? MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
