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Opinion February 12, 2021 5 mins read

Nikki Haley Shreds Trump, Says ‘We Shouldn’t Have Followed Him’

Opinion ı By Carmine Sabia

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President Donald Trump Nikki Haley

Nikki Haley, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations for former President Donald Trump, has broken with him.

Haley, who also served as the governor of South Carolina, spoke to Politico in an interview that was published on Friday and said that she regretted following former President Trump.

“We need to acknowledge he let us down,” she said. “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.”

When asked if she spoke to the president about his belief that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him she said “No … When he was talking about that, I didn’t address it.”

“I understand the president. I understand that genuinely, to his core, he believes he was wronged,” she said to Politico reporter Tim Alberta. “This is not him making it up.”

“You have the president of the United States telling everyone that he was cheated, that the voting systems are corrupt, that we’re living in a banana republic where the deep state has rigged this election against him,” Alberta said to her. “Isn’t that dangerous?”

“He believes it,” she said with a smile.

“There’s nothing that you’re ever going to do that’s going to make him feel like he legitimately lost the election,” the former ambassador said. “He’s got a big bully pulpit. He should be responsible with it.”

Haley blamed the former president’s attorneys for doing a “disservice to him” but did not blame Trump himself.

“That would be like you saying that grass is blue and you genuinely believing it. Is it irresponsible that you’re colorblind and you truly believe that?” Haley said.

“But he swore an oath,” Alberta said. “This is the president.”

“He believes he’s following that oath,” she said. “This would be different if he was being deceptive.”

Haley is in the precarious position of having to straddle the line between Trumpism and traditional Republicanism as she eyes a possible 2020 presidential campaign and this interview showed it.

“He deserves the truth. Is he hearing the truth?” she said. “I don’t think certain people around him are telling him the truth.”

But that part of the interview was done in December. At that time she said she believed that when the court cases ended that the president would be on his way. But then the Capitol riot happened.

“President Trump has not always chosen the right words. He was wrong with his words in Charlottesville, and I told him so at the time,” Haley told a Republican National Committee crowd. “He was badly wrong with his words yesterday.”

“And it wasn’t just his words. His actions since Election Day will be judged harshly by history,” she said.

Alberta went to visit her again, after that speech, and she continued her break with former President Trump and, by extension, Trumpism.

“But when Charlottesville happened, I was very triggered,” Haley said. “I know that bad things can happen. And I called [Trump] and I said, ‘You need to realize your words matter and what you say, and you think you’re saying, and what someone else may hear can be very different things. You have to understand that people can take that and hurt people with it.’

“He said, ‘Nikki, Nikki. This isn’t Charleston, this isn’t Charleston,’” she remembered. “I said, ‘I’m not saying this is Charleston. I’m saying that I know that certain people hear your words and will react to that and you have to be careful with that.’”

“Fast forward, I’m watching the television the morning of the 6th and I see Don Junior get up there,” she said, reciting the president’s son’s calls to action against Republican leaders, closing her eyes as if reimagining the scene. “And then I hear the president get up there and go off on Pence. I literally was so triggered, I had to turn it off. I mean, Jon [Lerner] texted me something and I said, ‘I can’t. I can’t watch it. I can’t watch it,’ because I felt the same thing. Somebody is going to hear that, and bad things will happen,” she said.

“When I tell you I’m angry, it’s an understatement,” she said. “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.”

Haley said that she believed Trump had “fallen so far” that he will fade into obscurity and no longer be a force in the Republican Party, nor will he attempt to become president again.

“Listen, when I walked in that RNC room, I was not expecting a whole bunch of love from that speech,” Haley said. “I know how much people love Donald Trump. I know it. I feel it. Whether it’s an RNC room or social media or talking to donors, I can tell you that the love they have for him is still very strong. That’s not going to just fall to the wayside.”

“Nor do I think the Republican Party is going to go back to the way it was before Donald Trump. I don’t think it should. I think what we need to do is take the good that he built, leave the bad that he did, and get back to a place where we can be a good, valuable, effective party. But at the same time, it’s bigger than the party. I hope our country can come together and figure out how we pull this back,” she said.

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Carmine Sabia

Carmine Sabia Jr started his own professional wrestling business at age 18 and went on to become a real estate investor. Currently he is a pundit who covers political news and current events.

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