Anderson Cooper Mocks Nikki Haley With Some Of Her Own Backhanded Southern Charm

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper had a good chuckle over former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley’s characterization of President Donald Trump as “truthful” ― and then slammed her with one of her own Southern barbs.

“Wow. Trump? Truthful? What? Great to work with? A listener? Who is this man she speaks of? I’d swipe right on him,” Cooper said Tuesday on “Anderson Cooper 360” after playing a clip from Haley’s interview on NBC that morning. In that interview, the former Trump critic turned loyal supporter praised the president’s character.

“Before we address the president’s ‘inability to lie,’ a superpower that apparently only Nikki Haley can see, let’s just address the good listener part,” Cooper said.

“Just about everyone who has fled this White House has commented on the president’s short attention span and lack of interest in reading or listening to long, detailed briefings.”

“As for Haley’s claim that Trump is a truthful person, bless her heart,” Cooper added, using the classic line that Haley once wielded against Trump after facing attacks from him while governor of South Carolina.

Haley had appeared Tuesday on “Today” to promote her newly released memoir, “With All Due Respect,” which chronicles her tenure in the Trump administration.

“I talked to him multiple times, and when I had issues, he always heard me out. I never had any concern on whether he could handle the job ever,” Haley told host Savannah Guthrie.

“In every instance that I dealt with him, he was truthful, he listened and he was great to work with,” she added.

Cooper called out Haley’s careful wording in saying “in every instance that I dealt with him,” saying it was a typical tactic used by politicians that allowed them to speak only to what they personally saw.

“Actually, no, y’all can speak to things you haven’t seen also but know to be true. For instance, I haven’t been on the moon, but I know it’s not made out of cheese.”

“She has eyes and ears and a TV like the rest of us, and Trump makes things up all the time on TV.”

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.