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Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley accused former President Donald Trump of "acting like [President] Joe Biden" for not participating in the Republican presidential primary debates.
Haley, 51, a former ally turned political rival who served as a U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, pushed back on negative ads from the opposing campaign and its aligned super PAC during a town hall appearance in Indianola, Iowa, on Saturday (January 6), nine days prior to the Iowa caucuses.
“Why don’t we ask [Trump] to stop acting like Biden and hide and get on a debate stage and answer the question of why he proposed a 25 cent gas tax increase on all of us in 2018?" Haley asked the crowd.
Last week, Trump dubbed Haley as "Nikki New Taxes" amid polls showing her gaining significant ground for the Republican presidential nomination.
“KISS OF DEATH: Nikki New Taxes,” an email from Trump's campaign committee stated on Friday (December 29) via the New York Post. “The truth is finally coming out about Nikki Haley’s troublesome record showing her total disdain for the working class and a willingness to sell out to lobbyist parasites,” the email read.
The nickname came eight days after Haley, a former ally turned political rival who served as a U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, was reportedly favored by 29% of likely GOP voters in the state of New Hampshire, which will hold the first primary election -- following the Iowa caucus -- on January 23, 2024, according to a new poll released by American Research Group, Inc. Trump, 77, still leads all candidates at 33%, however, the 4% projected margin is the smallest between the former president and any other Republican candidate to date.
Trump also holds a 33% to 32% edge over Haley among voters who said they would definitely turn out for the January 23 primary. Haley has recently gained momentum as the alternative to Trump, receiving an endorsement from the Koch-affiliated Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Action in November, who claimed she “offers America the opportunity to turn the page on the current political era, to win the Republican primary and defeat [President] Joe Biden next November.”
An Emerson College poll released on Friday (January 5) showed that Trump led haley by 29 points in her home state of South Carolina eight weeks prior to the state's primary scheduled for February 24.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon encouraged wealthy business leaders to support Haley as a way to "get a choice on the Republican side that might be better than Trump" the day after the AFP Action endorsement.
Haley recently gained momentum as the alternative to Trump, receiving an endorsement from the Koch-affiliated Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Action in November, who claimed she “offers America the opportunity to turn the page on the current political era, to win the Republican primary and defeat Joe Biden next November.”
"The more voters hear from Nikki Haley, the more they like her,” said Ashley Davis, vice chair of Winning for Women Action Fund, a Republican super PAC intended to support the election of conservative women, in a statement obtained by USA TODAY last month. “Her conservative record and positive vision are clearly resonating, and she's ridden that momentum into second place in critical early states.”