'Complete joke candidate': Internet slams Nikki Haley as she blames Donald Trump for Tom Suozzi’s victory

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA: Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley’s campaign has blamed former President Donald Trump for the recent Democratic victory in the Long Island district previously held by Republican congressman George Santos.

According to the New York Post, Haley’s campaign team argued that Trump's presence in the race created a significant strain on Republican newcomer Mazi Pilip's spirited challenge to former Democratic Representative Tom Suozzi, who has now regained his former seat.

Olivia Perez-Cubas, Haley campaign national spokesperson, said in a statement, “Let’s just say the quiet part out loud. Donald Trump continues to be a huge weight against Republican candidates. Despite the enormous and obvious failings of Joe Biden, we just lost another winnable Republican House seat because voters overwhelmingly reject Donald Trump.”

What prompted Haley’s campaign team to criticize Donald Trump?

Nikki Haley, a 52-year-old Republican who served as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations during the period of 2017 to 2018, has recently intensified her criticism towards her former boss, Donald Trump.

The former president’s ongoing popularity among GOP voters and his consistent success in acquiring delegates for the presidential contests, has prompted his supporters to urge Haley to withdraw from the presidential race.

The 77-year-old Republican presidential frontrunner had publicly condemned Pilip, a 47-year-old legislator from Nassau County, who had previously been affiliated with the Democratic Party, following her defeat on Tuesday.

Trump posted on Truth Social, “Republicans just don’t learn, but maybe she was still a Democrat?”

Trump claimed a "99% Endorsement Success Rate in Primaries," implying that Pilip lacked the MAGA credentials.

“Just watched this very foolish woman, Mazi Melesa Pilip, running in a race where she didn’t endorse me and tried to ‘straddle the fence,’ when she would have easily WON if she understood anything about MODERN DAY politics in America,” the MAGA figurehead remarked in his post.

George Santos, a former representative from New York, was removed from his position in the previous year following a scathing report by the House Committee on Ethics. The report alleged that the 35-year-old Republican congressman "blatantly stole" funds from his campaign and misled donors.

Although Santos was defeated by Suozzi in 2020, he later regained his seat in 2022, when Suozzi opted not to run. In that same year, President Joe Biden won the district by approximately eight points.

According to the latest voting tallies, Suozzi's victory over Pilip was similar to Biden's margin of victory in the 2020 presidential election.

Following Suozzi's swearing-in on February 28, the already-slim House Republican majority will be further reduced to 219-213.

“Give us a real candidate in the district for November,” Trump continued in his Truth Social tirade. “Suozzi, I know him well, can be easily beaten!”

Haley and Trump are scheduled to go head-to-head in a Republican presidential primary election in her home state of South Carolina on February 24.

It is to be noted, however, that Haley is trailing Trump significantly in all the polls conducted thus far.

Internet slams Nikki Haley's camp for blaming New York special election loss squarely on Donald Trump

People on X criticized Haley's campaign team for blaming everything wrong within the Republican party to the former president's ascent.

One X user remarked, "Complete joke candidate pushed by the RINOs but sure Nimrata!"

Another user said, "Nikki is wrong. Trump didn’t support the GOP candidate."

Another user wrote, "Really . Who's to blame for her being a loser?"

One user claimed, "Pilip regurgitated every Trump talking point and lost the election."

Another X user quipped, "So the registered Democrat who ran as a Republican against another Democrat lost because of Trump says the Democrat running against Trump."

Finally, this user tweeted, "So why didn’t YOU campaign for her?"

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.