Nikki Haley knocks Trump for 'praising dictators' and adding trillions to the deficit

CARROLL, Iowa — Nikki Haley is sharpening her criticism of her Republican opponents this week, accusing Donald Trump of cozying up to dictators.

“I think that his policies were good,” Haley told a crowd in western Iowa. “But if you look at what's happening now, the part that bothers me is our national security is at risk. And what's he doing? He's praising dictators.”

At a weekend rally in New Hampshire, the former president once again praised authoritarian leaders, calling Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban “highly respected” and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “very nice.” He also quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin in trying to cast the federal indictments against him as being politically motivated.

“When Israel fell to her knees, what did he do? He talked about an old vendetta with (Israel Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and praised Hezbollah,” Haley said. “He praised (Chinese President Xi Jinping) a dozen times after China gave the world COVID. He said Kim Jong Un is his friend. … We can't have that.”

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She said Trump had effectively managed trade with China, while failing to address major issues with Chinese spies and the illegal flow of fentanyl into the country.

"And yes, did we have a good economy when he was there? We sure did," Haley said. "You know how we got it? He put us $8 trillion in debt in four years. Our kids are never gonna forgive us for that. It was a price to pay."

Haley made the comments as she kicks off the first leg of a 10-stop, five-day swing across the state less than a month before the caucuses.

Haley has been criticizing Trump on the campaign trail in Iowa recently, saying “chaos follows him,” and imploring Iowans to choose a leader who will bring stability to the country.

Her remarks Monday, delivered as an addendum to her typical stump speech, put a finer point on her critique of the former president at a time when she trails in the polls and the window for converting potential supporters is beginning to close.

According to the latest Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll, she sits in third place with 16%. She’s behind Trump, who leads with 51%, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is at 19%.

Still, even as she escalates some of her attacks, she declined to go all in on her criticism.

Asked by an event attendee whether she had to convince Trump to sanction Putin after Russia’s invasion of Crimea, Haley said “the media never gave Trump credit” for being tough on Russia.

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“Trump actually was very good on hitting Russia,” she said. “… Now, he wouldn't act that way. And there would be times that I would say, 'Why are you talking about that? Like, Putin is a thug, stop trying to befriend him.' I think for some reason he thought he was like this cool guy. But having said that, you have to give him credit that he actually pushed back on Putin quite a bit and sanctioned Putin quite a bit.”

Glen Kesselring, a 77-year-old Ottumwa resident who saw Haley speak in Nevada Monday morning, said he previously voted for Trump but is now leaning toward supporting Haley.

He said he likes that Haley said Trump was the right president at the right time, but it’s now time to move on.

“All the noise that's happened with Trump and all the noises going on down — do we need to have that going on now?” he asked. “We can't get anything done the way it is.”

As the caucus cycle moves into its final month, Haley has also begun more directly confronting the negative messaging coming from DeSantis’ campaign and super PAC.

“I never talk about my opponents, but today I am,” she said in Carroll. “And the reason is I've seen the commercials that you see.”

It comes as Haley and DeSantis continue to battle for the chance to be seen as the strongest competitor to Trump.

“There are differences here between the opponents,” she said. “And I trust you to see what's real and what's not. But if a candidate has to lie to win a race, they don't deserve to win the race.”

Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Nikki Haley knocks Donald Trump for 'praising dictators'