Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley directly criticized former President Donald Trump for his involvement in inciting Capitol violence in a new interview, a notable condemnation from someone who is widely viewed as harboring presidential hopes in a party that is still in thrall to Trump.
“We need to acknowledge he let us down,” she told Politico magazine in an interview published Friday. “He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t let that ever happen again.”
Haley’s Work In The Trump Administration
Haley has often tried to walk the fine line between associating herself with Trump – who continues to be the most popular figure in the party – while distancing himself enough to appeal to his Republican critics and moderators. She notably left his administration in 2018 on good terms with Trump, a contrast to many other officials who have publicly fallen out with their former boss.
In a Politico article, Haley expressed outrage at Trump’s treatment of former Vice President Mike Pence on January 6 and said she had not spoken to Trump since. Trump attacked Pence on Twitter that day for doing his job of overseeing the counting of Congress votes in the Electoral College, when a crowd of supporters entered the Capitol hoping to suspend the certificate, some of them chanting threats of Pence’s assassination.
“When I tell you I’m angry, it’s an understatement,” Haley told Politico. “Mike has been nothing but loyal to that man. He’s been nothing but a good friend of that man. … I am so disappointed in the fact that [despite] the loyalty and friendship he had with Mike Pence, that he would do that to him. Like, I’m disgusted by it.”
She did, however, say that she believes “impeachment is a waste of time.” A majority of Senate Republicans have signaled that they will vote to acquit Trump, and removal from office requires a two-thirds vote in the chamber.
Statements Of The Former US Ambassador
“I think his business is suffering at this point. I think he’s lost any sort of political viability he was going to have. I think he’s lost his social media, which meant the world to him,” she continued. “I mean, I think he’s lost the things that really could have kept him moving.”
The Senate could also consider a vote to prevent Trump from running for office, barring him from running in the 2024 re-election. Haley, however, predicted that Trump would not run for re-election and that the former President would not have a future in the Republican party.
“I don’t think he’s going to be in the picture,” she said. “I don’t think he can. He’s fallen so far.”
She acknowledged that “the love” Republicans have for Trump is “still very strong” and won’t “fall to the wayside.”
Although Haley has left the Trump administration in line with Trump, she has at times spoken out about his rhetoric, even while supporting many of his policies. The day after January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, Haley told members of the Republican National Committee in a closed-door speech that the President’s actions after the election “will be judged harshly by history.”
