Nikki Haley is leaning into former President Trump’s verbal miscues as she seeks a game-changing moment ahead of Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary, where her campaign desperately needs a strong result.
She pounced Sunday on Trump’s apparent confusing days earlier of she and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) during his own campaign event.
“Trump goes on and on, multiple times, saying that I prevented the security on January 6 at the Capitol. I wasn’t even anywhere near the Capitol. I wasn’t in office,” Haley told a crowd Sunday in Derry, N.H.
“The reality is that he was confused. He was confused the same way that Joe Biden was going to start World War II. He was confused the same way that he said he ran against President Obama.”
Trump appeared to confuse Pelosi, who was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as a mob of pro-Trump supporters angry over the election forced the evacuation of lawmakers, and Haley, a former South Carolina governor who was not in Washington that day and has not served in Congress.
Trump in the past has also appeared to confuse Biden with Obama in various statements.
Haley, 52, has made generational change a calling-card of her presidential campaign as she takes on Trump, who is 77, in the GOP primary and eyes a general-election battle against President Biden, who is 81.
“Do we really want to have two presidential candidates in their 80s?” she rhetorically asked a crowd of New Hampshire voters in Derry. “No!” a few people in the crowd yelled back.
Trump has largely skirted scrutiny about his age and verbal errors even as Biden has been put under the microscope over whether his age and mental acuity are problems.
Part of the reason may be the reluctance other GOP presidential rivals have had in making direct attacks on the former president.
Trump on Saturday defended his age to a crowd of fired-up loyalists.
“I feel my mind is stronger now than it was 25 years ago,” Trump told a friendly crowd of loyalists at a Saturday night rally in Manchester, N.H. “It’s not age. Different people, different strokes,” Trump added as a slight to Biden.
Biden also went on the attack over Trump’s mix-ups on Sunday, posting a video chronicling his predecessor’s problems.
“I don’t agree with Nikki Haley on everything, but we agree on this much: She is not Nancy Pelosi,” Biden posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Haley faces a difficult road to winning in New Hampshire, where Trump has a large lead in polls and appears to have gained momentum from his blowout victory in the Iowa caucuses. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s decision to drop out of the race was another boost for Trump.
Still, Matthew Bartlett, a New Hampshire-based Republican strategist, said Trump’s cognitive stance could be a fruitful line of attack for Haley.
“As much as the GOP has concerns about Biden, his age, and his competency, there are now whispers about Trump’s,” Bartlett said. “More people are wondering why did didn’t debate and some of his performances, including this very odd apparent senior moment, have people talking.”
“It is hard to set a trap for Trump, but he has a tendency to set one for himself – and then walk right into it,” he continued. “Even those that love him will admit he is his own worst enemy and often talks his way into trouble – legally and on the campaign trail too.”
Trump’s supporters, on the other hand, are not showing any signs of concerns over Haley’s recent attacks.
“Never Nikki,” exclaimed Maria Martins, a Trump supporter, when asked about the former UN ambassador’s recent attacks on Trump. “When you have to go to someone’s personality, that is a losing strategy.”
Peter Salvitti, who is also supporting Trump, predicted that Haley’s attacks on Trump’s cognitive state would not stick.
“Not with President Trump’s base,” Salvitti said. “She’s trying to obviously appeal to a few Independents here, a few moderate Democrats there, and of course the RINO’s,” he continued, referring to the acronym “Republican in name only.”
“She’s hoping that will propel her and I don’t think it’s going to,” he added.
Meanwhile, Trump’s presidential campaign is brushing off the tactic as desperate.
“Clearly Nikki Haley has run out of contrast,” Trump senior adviser Jason Miller told reporters on Sunday. “Now she’s trying to channel her Democratic backers in attacking President Trump. I think the end is near for Nikki Haley’s campaign. It’s just a sign of desperation.”
Doug and Michelle, residents of Hopkinton, N.H., who are voting for a Republican in Tuesday’s contest, came to see Haley speak on Sunday, but will likely vote for the former president.
“I don’t think age is the issue. It’s cognitive ability, not age. I think…” Doug paused. “Trump’s pretty sharp,” Michelle chimed in. “And pretty funny,” Doug added. But when asked about Biden, Doug told The Hill he is “scary.”
“I’m concerned about how well he would do … in those 3 a.m. morning phone calls. Are they even going to wake him?” he said, referring to White House advisers.