Trump's Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley has been lambasted online after issuing criticism of former Republican Vice President Mike Pence that many say is rife with hypocrisy.
Haley, whom many have speculated plans to run for President in 2024, was once one of former Republican President Donald Trump's most vocal right-wing critics. But Haley swiftly got in line once Trump won the 2016 Republican nomination and even earned herself a spot in his administration.
And now, as 2024 inches closer, she is bending over backward not to offend the former President, whose imprimatur is seen as make-or-break by many Republican politicians when it comes to their future election plans.
In a seeming effort to play both sides of the issue, Haley gave Fox News an eye-rollingly obsequious critique of Pence's recent criticisms of Trump for having pressured him to unconstitutionally overturn the 2020 election during and in the lead-up to the January 6 insurrection.
See her comments below.
Nikki Haley on Pence statement: I\u2019m not a fan of Republicans going after Republicanspic.twitter.com/zLb91gSq3r— Acyn (@Acyn) 1644276052
In her discussion with Fox News' Brett Baier, Haley criticized Pence for essentially not being a team player, even though she claims she agrees with what he did.
“Mike Pence is a good man. He’s an honest man. I think he did what he thought was right on that day."
"But I will always say, I’m not a fan of Republicans going against Republicans.”
So, Pence did the right thing, but you don't like it, because you don't like "Republicans going against Republicans," which you expressed by going after a Republican on national television, in defense of Donald Trump, a Republican who has made a political career out of attacking people in his own party?
Did we get that right?
The backlash against Haley was swift--not just because of the nonsensical, circular logic of her response, but because Pence's criticism of Trump was simply on the basis of what the constitution says.
As he put it during his statement to the Federalist Society:
"President Trump is wrong... Under the constitution I had no right to change the outcome of our election."
On Twitter, people of both parties wasted no time putting Haley in her place.
What I appreciate about Nikki Haley is how consistent she\u2019s been in forcefully voicing this principle, especially when Donald Trump was attacking Repub\u2026.hahahahahahahahahahahhttps://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1490827933153255431\u00a0\u2026— Sarah Longwell (@Sarah Longwell) 1644282759
Nikki Haley\u2019s spine is like the Grinch\u2019s heart on pg. 1https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1490827933153255431\u00a0\u2026— Seth Abramson (@Seth Abramson) 1644289248
I'm not a fan of Republicans going after Republicans, says Nikki Haley who *checks notes* worked for Donald Trump and continues to boost him. Lol.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1490827933153255431\u00a0\u2026— Mehdi Hasan (@Mehdi Hasan) 1644288100
But Nikki Haley is a fan of Republicans going after a Republican VP with a noose.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1490827933153255431\u00a0\u2026— John Fugelsang (@John Fugelsang) 1644287340
Nikki Haley is a pathetic coward.https://twitter.com/acyn/status/1490827933153255431\u00a0\u2026— Republicans against Trumpism (@Republicans against Trumpism) 1644277666
Nikki Haley: I\u2019m not a fan of democracyhttps://twitter.com/acyn/status/1490827933153255431\u00a0\u2026— Ben Meiselas (@Ben Meiselas) 1644277587
Nikki Haley: Duty, honor, country? Nah. Party first.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1490827933153255431\u00a0\u2026— Bill Kristol (@Bill Kristol) 1644276953
She said, goin' after a feller Republican.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1490827933153255431\u00a0\u2026— Tea Pain (@Tea Pain) 1644283790
In other words, Nikki Haley is not a fan of Republicans telling the truth about Republicans. She is in the right place.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1490827933153255431\u00a0\u2026— Political Tweets -January 20,2021- President Biden (@Political Tweets -January 20,2021- President Biden) 1644286521
Nikki Haley once again fishing to be relevant, praying she gets the nod for VP in 2024.\nIt's never going to be you, Nicki.\nNever.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1490827933153255431\u00a0\u2026— Steve Marmel \ud83d\udc89 \ud83d\udc89 \ud83d\udc89 (@Steve Marmel \ud83d\udc89 \ud83d\udc89 \ud83d\udc89) 1644283536
As both Haley and Pence are widely expected to run for the Republican nomination for President in 2024, they just may have a chance to discuss this face-to-face. It will be interesting to see how Haley handles that conversation.
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