Nikki Haley faces backlash after she says Trump uses nicknames because ‘he feels insecure’

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE: In a recent appearance on Fox News, Republican Presidential candidate Nikki Haley pushed back against former President Donald Trump's use of nicknames, alleging that he resorts to such tactics because he "feels insecure" about her escalating prominence in the GOP primary.

The exchange occurred during an interview with Fox News' Neil Cavuto on Saturday, January 20. Cavuto questioned Haley about Trump mocking her given first name, asking if she interpreted it as a "racial zinger".

Haley's response to Trump

Haley, who served as the UN Ambassador in Trump's administration, maintained that politics is "not personal" for her. 

“Politics is not personal for me. It’s what he does,” she responded on Cavuto Live, as quoted by The Hill. “This is what he does when he feels insecure. This is what he does when he feels threatened. I worked with him. I know exactly how he is.” 

During the interview, Haley also delved into Trump's recent post on his TruthSocial platform, where he repeatedly referred to her as "Nimbra".

“Governor Chris Sununu, the now failing Governor of New Hampshire, where I am beating his endorsed candidate, Nimbra, by big numbers, and DeSanctimonious by even bigger numbers, should spend more time keeping Democrats from voting in the Republican Primary – How ridiculous is that,” Trump said in a post on Friday.

Born Nimarata Nikki Randhawa, Haley clarified that while Trump praised her during her tenure as the UN Ambassador, his recent attacks stem from a sense of threat.

“No, because he thought I did a great job,” she said. “And he said I was tough. And he said that I was the best UN ambassador they ever had. And he always told everybody, don’t mess with me, you know, because, you know, she’s a killer. She’s going to make sure that she keeps America strong. He praised me constantly and we had that.”

Internet trolls Nikki Haley after she says Trump 'feels insecure'

Despite Haley's denial of Trump's name-calling during her time in his administration, social media users trolled her for her comments.

"HALEY has reduced herself to whining. How sad. Go home girl," one posted on X.

"lol…Nikki no. He wishes he didn’t need to totally discredit you—but you insisted," another wrote.

"She will endorse him soon," someone else added.

"Yeah, the guy leading by twenty points is the insecure one !…….. okay sure," another reacted.

'Birther' theory and roots

At a recent CNN town hall in New Hampshire, Haley went further in dissecting Trump's motivations, alleging that he felt "threatened" and was thus promoting a "birther" conspiracy theory about her eligibility to serve as president. Trump has argued that she does not qualify for the position because her Indian immigrant parents were not yet US citizens.  

Haley, however, dismissed the theory, affirming her pride in her South Carolina roots. "The name calling? I know Trump well," the former South Carolina governor said. "That's what he does when he feels threatened. That's what he does when he feels insecure."

"I don't take these things personally. It doesn't bother me," Haley added. "So it's not going to waste any energy for me. I'm going to continue to focus on the things that people want to talk about and not get into name-calling back with him."

Addressing accusations of attracting Democratic support in the primary, Haley explained her approach of engaging voters regardless of party affiliation.

"What I want everybody here to remember is Republicans have lost the last seven out of eight popular votes for president. That is nothing to be proud of," she said.

"If you're going to win the majority of Americans, you have to make sure, as a leader you don't decide who's good and who's bad, who's right and who's wrong." 

Haley also touched on her diverse support base, citing endorsements from conservative Don Bolduc and moderate New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu.

"What I'm doing is telling people what I'm for. If independents and conservatives and moderate Republicans like that, I love that, if conservative Democrats are saying I want to come back home to the Republican Party because they left it, I want them back," Haley explained. 

The former ambassador said she would never target the progressive vote. "They're never going to be for me," she insisted.

"But what I will do is I want the younger voter, I want those moderates, I want those independents, I want them to come back to the Republican Party because this is how we win."

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