Nikki Haley, former Republican governor of South Carolina as well as former President Donald Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, is facing online ire after she criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for her Saturday, May 29, tweet telling people to enjoy the long weekend.
The GOP politician was evidently upset Harris did not talk about Memorial Day in that particular tweet.
Haley called Harris "Unprofessional and unfit" in a quote tweet Sunday afternoon.
Enjoy the long weekend. https://t.co/ilGOrod4AW— Vice President Kamala Harris (@Vice President Kamala Harris) 1622315330.0
Unprofessional and unfit. https://t.co/XuMo7W5i6d— Nikki Haley (@Nikki Haley) 1622395835.0
But Harris had already tweeted about Memorial Day Sunday morning, 6.5 hours before Haley's criticism.
Harris noted people were preparing to honor those who sacrificed their lives for their country on Monday, the day of the actual national holiday.
Throughout our history our service men and women have risked everything to defend our freedoms and our country. As… https://t.co/24yc29a22Z— Vice President Kamala Harris (@Vice President Kamala Harris) 1622372401.0
Haley later tweeted about Memorial Day on Monday, over 24 hours after Harris, asking God to bless the families of those who sacrificed their lives.
We are a blessed country because of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. God bless… https://t.co/qs9cZkTiAj— Nikki Haley (@Nikki Haley) 1622465474.0
Unfortunately for Haley, she then followed this up with a tweet about how she was happy to be spending time with her son—presumably enjoying the long weekend.
People on Twitter didn't hesitate to criticize Haley for her hypocrisy, with many throwing her own words right back at her.
@NikkiHaley Memorial Day is only for thanking fallen servicemembers and their families, according to you. It's not… https://t.co/yUavndEmS6— KnowYourObama (@KnowYourObama) 1622471555.0
@NikkiHaley Unprofessional and unfit! Spending time with family during the long weekend was discouraged, I thought. 🤔— Kimberly (@Kimberly) 1622471185.0
@NikkiHaley So ... you’re “enjoying the long weekend” ? 🙄— WHSKYNATCUP (@WHSKYNATCUP) 1622471216.0
The problem folks had with Haley's tweet was not that she was enjoying time with her son—indeed, many families spent Memorial Day weekend together after over a year of pandemic lockdowns.
The problem was the harsh criticism Haley leveled at Vice President Harris for wishing everyone enjoyment during their long weekend, then tweeting about enjoying herself on Monday. If Harris had completely neglected to mention the reason for the holiday, Haley might have almost had a leg to stand on.
But that wasn't what happened.
@NikkiHaley Oh wait, you mean it's ok to celebrate what YOU want, but not what VP wants? Got it. HYPOCRITE— sharonwhotweets (@sharonwhotweets) 1622481275.0
Yikes, Nikki. Very unprofessional and unfit. Do better in the future!!! #NotBeBest https://t.co/DS5NVs6GKp— Vanessa Gorman🇺🇸 - Good Trouble (@Vanessa Gorman🇺🇸 - Good Trouble) 1622479219.0
Enjoy your long weekend. #TheGreatFakeMemorialDayOutrage https://t.co/xbMAMjjPb8— Really Dark Knight 🇺🇸🇻🇮 (@Really Dark Knight 🇺🇸🇻🇮) 1622481214.0
Good for you Nikki. You can’t change until you acknowledge your problem. https://t.co/Jap6A3KlTQ— Emily Brandwin (@Emily Brandwin) 1622425093.0
Others noted a distinct lack of outrage by Haley over her former boss' Memorial Day messaging, both past and present.
Former Trump UN ambassador @NikkiHaley calls @VP Harris "unprofessional and unfit" for telling everyone to "enjoy t… https://t.co/vwg0mZxCqu— Ashton Pittman (@Ashton Pittman) 1622412008.0
And what did Nikki Haley say when Trump tweeted this last Memorial Day? Oh thaaaaat’s right. NOTHING. https://t.co/xupFcW8o6I— thearticles7777 (@thearticles7777) 1622425583.0
Reminder to Nikki Haley and other in the cult of Trump who worship Republican Jesus and who are attacking VP Kamala… https://t.co/T25Vj1PiU5— Jimmy😷 (@Jimmy😷) 1622417838.0
@JimmyStreich/Twitter
Kamala Harris said "Have a Great Weekend" Trump on his "Blog" wrote "Have a Great Memorial Day Weekend" Guess whi… https://t.co/1bJQBuz1gz— redwhiskeypete (@redwhiskeypete) 1622506689.0
Nikki Haley has the nerve to say VP Harris is unprofessional and unfit, but just loves the buns of Trump how about… https://t.co/Iqg7GXw8Ta— Gloucestergal (@Gloucestergal) 1622418491.0
On a platform like Twitter—where character limits mean posts have to be concise—it just made sense for Harris to make two separate tweets. She posted one on Saturday to address one of the first major travel weekends since the pandemic began and a second on Sunday to address Memorial Day.
If only Haley waited to see if Harris followed up her weekend well-wishes, she might have been able to avoid the storm of accusations of hypocrisy and internet anger currently aimed in her direction.