It would be a stretch to say Nikki Haley was off somewhere in the Witness Protection Program. Still, she’s been pretty freaking quiet for months. Oh, she said she’d be voting for Trump, and even said those who voted for her should do so. But it was a pretty lame statement she put out back then. More recently, with Republicans from former top officials to rank and file voters saying for the first time in their life they’d vote for a Democrat (Kamala Harris) questions have been raised about Trump using Harris on the campaign trail. Trump has been non-committal. However Haley said she’d let Team Trump know when she was available but hasn’t heard back. Other than that it’s been crickets from Haley until today. And if I’m right she said “in code” to her supporters to go ahead and just this once vote for a Democrat. Kamala Harris.
You are probably saying ‘Denis has really lost his mind this time’ and I can’t blame you if that’s your reaction but hear me out. NBC News has a story up where the headline notes Haley being critical of Trump, or at least Trump World for the ‘bromance and masculinity stuff.’ Trump will go through the freaking roof when he finds out about this! Haley’s remarks came in response to that Saturday night hate rally Trump held at Madison Square Garden. Haley’s had time to process it and the reaction to it so what she’s on record saying isn’t some instant gut reaction. She’s a former U.N. Ambassador for chrissakes and knows how to measure her words.
That’s why I suggest she might well be sending a message to her supporters. Haley didn’t pull any punches in her assessment:
On Fox News Tuesday, Haley addressed a comedian’s racist jokes about Puerto Rico and Latinos, a moment that has roiled the Trump campaign and was condemned by multiple Republicans, including members of Congress.
“This is not a time to have anyone criticize Puerto Rico or Latinos,” Haley said, instead calling for discipline around the campaign. “This is not a time for them to get overly masculine with this bromance thing that they have.”
She criticized the decision to allow a comic to perform at the event in the first place, saying there was “no reason” to do so.
Take note of that first part. Haley didn’t merely issue a written statement. No, she went on Fox freaking News to have her say! That means her voters, that twenty percent or so who kept voting for her even if she suspended her campaign will hear about what she said. She criticized Trump! And she went on to talk about how his campaign and what took place at that MSG rally, and also GOP ads/messaging is hurting Trump with women voters and making a wide gender gap even worse. Talk about poking Trump/MAGA in the eye!
“You have got affiliated PACs doing commercials about calling Kamala the ‘c’ word or speakers at Madison Square Garden, you know, referring to her and her pimps,” Haley added. “That is not the way to win women. That is not the way to win people who are concerned about Trump’s style.”
Haley was referring to a video published to X by Elon Musk’s super PAC calling Harris the “c-word” before then saying it was “Communist.” The spot was deleted from America PAC’s account on Monday.
Haley also criticized Vance along with Trump saying they “need to change the way they talk about women.” That’s pretty clear and strong criticism. I also think it’s clear that while Haley wasn’t (from what we can tell) going to make a surprise appearance with Trump for damned sure she won’t be doing so now. She’s a smart person and knows she’s torn things with Trump and his minions. Hell, by now he’s probably already scribbled her name on his enemies list. Haley can say things like she did later on that she’s about policies and not personalities but I’m not buying it. Haley has been bitten by the Presidential grub and as Lincoln once said once it begins to gnaw on a person it will forever dominate them.
Perhaps she’s seen some information indicating Trump’s likely to lose and wants to start creating a little distance. As in NOT making a last minute appearance at some campaign event. If Trump goes down the scramble for what to do and how to pick up the pieces will be epic. However what matters is that Haley KNOWS some of her voters aren’t going to vote for Trump under any circumstances. How many? That we don’t know. Haley’s made all the “right” noises about they should suck it up and vote for Trump. However, even if not on the trail with him she hasn’t been out there making the rounds on news shows and at local events for other GOP candidates and telling her voters to go ahead and vote for Trump.
Now she’s openly being critical. And I truly believe those who voted for Haley in the primary but haven’t yet voted for President are going to think long and hard about what she had to say on Fox. Haley pulled a LOT of votes from Trump even after she dropped out. That’s how much those GOP voters didn’t want Trump. Now she’s saying Trump (and Vance) is blowing it, insulting Americans he shouldn’t be pissing off. Hispanics. Immigrants in general – like Harris her own parents were immigrants after all. And women.
As I said if I’m right Haley has sent a “coded” message to her voters giving permission to vote for Harris. Or at the very least NOT vote for Trump. At this point that could matter a great deal. If Trump loses the “autopsy” on how it all went wrong for him will do a deep dive into that quite significant bloc of Haley voters. It should be fascinating.
