Nikki Haley lashes out at Trump, DeSantis during CNN town hall
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Nikki Haley has been active on the GOP scene for the past two years through her political group Stand for America, which helped Republican candidates in the 2022 elections.
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Former South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley speaks in Las Vegas in November 2023. (AFP)
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley slammed former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis multiple times during her CNN town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, Sunday evening.
During the Trump administration, Haley served as ambassador to the UN. She claimed that her Republican competitors for president are "not being honest with the American people" over entitlement reform.
The former governor of South Carolina told CNN's Jake Tapper, "We can't keep kicking this can down the road," supporting raising the retirement age for those who are now in their 20s.
"And I know that Trump and DeSantis have both said we're not going to deal with entitlement reform, well all you're doing is leaving it for the next president, and that’s leaving a lot of Americans in trouble", she added.
Trump has cautioned Republicans to avoid making any instant changes to Medicare or Social Security, while his administration did attempt to reduce food stamp payments until a court delayed the measure in October 2020.
After CNN examined comments he made in his previous congressional campaign in 2012 in which he stated that he "would embrace" ideas to privatize Social Security and Medicare, DeSantis' team declined to comment on his position on them earlier this year.
Haley deviated from Republican front-runner Trump's position on the war in Ukraine during her town hall at Grand View University (the former president said in a CNN town hall last month that he had negotiated with both parties to cease the war). "It's in the best interest of our national security for Ukraine to win," she said.
It is worth noting that Haley has been active on the GOP scene for the past two years through her political group Stand for America, which helped Republican candidates in the 2022 elections.
When asked about DeSantis' remarks from March in which he referred to the conflict as "a territorial dispute," Haley responded, "For them to sit there and say that this is a territorial dispute — that's just not the case, or to say that we should stay neutral."
Haley criticized Trump for praising Kim Jong Un after his country was chosen to serve on the executive board of the World Health Organization.
Two days ago, Trump congratulates Kim Jong Un on the DPRK's election to the WHO executive board on his proprietary social media platform Truth Social.
Americans are weary of polarizing politics, according to Haley, who stated at the town hall that they "want to see a government work for them again."
The removal of the Confederate flag from South Carolina's state Capitol in 2015, which she did in reaction to the racial mass killing, "starts from the top," as per Haley.
Meanwhile, Haley reiterated earlier statements that she would cut funding to sanctuary towns and bring back the "Remain in Mexico" policy from the Trump administration.
She also highlighted her stance against red flag laws, which let law enforcement with a court order temporarily seize a person's firearms if they are deemed to be a risk to themselves or others.
Haley also echoed remarks she's made in the past about a "national consensus" on abortion and how she is "unapologetically pro-life," but that there aren't enough senators to enact legislation at the federal level.
