South Carolina – In the past few weeks, Nikki Haley, once the governor of South Carolina and now running for U.S. president, has climbed up a bit in the rankings. However, she’s still quite behind Donald Trump, the former U.S. president, who has a lot of support from Republicans. Trump is dealing with a few legal issues right now, which might affect his presidential campaign, but he’s still actively trying to get support from Republican voters.
At a gathering in Iowa last Sunday, Donald Trump talked about why he chose Nikki Haley as the UN ambassador when he was president. He explained to his audience that he appointed Haley in 2017 so that Henry McMaster, her lieutenant governor at the time, could become the governor of South Carolina.
“I gave (Haley) the position, but I gave it to her much more so because I wanted Henry McMaster to be the governor of South Carolina,” Trump said. “And he’s been a great help.”
Gov. McMaster was the first high-ranking official to support Trump in the 2016 election
When McMaster was South Carolina’s lieutenant governor, he was the first high-ranking official to support Trump in the 2016 election. Once Haley became the U.N. ambassador, McMaster stepped up to be the governor, a position he had previously competed for against Haley in 2010. Now, with Haley running for president, we might see more back-and-forth between her and Trump.
Even though they are running against each other, Trump complimented Haley’s performance as governor. However, he also mentioned that she’s not quite ready to be president, suggesting she doesn’t fully fit the role just yet.
“Nikki did a good job. She was out there, but she’s not ready to be president,” Trump said. “I know very well … and honestly, she’s not tough enough. We’re dealing with the toughest people in the world, dealing with people that are on a level that you’ve never seen.”
Trump is leading, Haley surpasses DeSantis for the second spot
Latest surveys indicate that Donald Trump is leading the race among Republican presidential candidates. Yet, Nikki Haley has been gaining ground. Many polls now place her in second, just behind Trump and ahead of Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, who is also running for the Republican presidential nomination.
“Everybody’s that’s ever worked for me or worked with me, no one ever questions my toughness. He’s saying this because now he knows he’s in trouble, now he knows this is becoming a two-person race,” Haley told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday.
