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Nikki Haley goes on offense against Trump days before New Hampshire primary
A few days away from next week’s critical New Hampshire primary, Nikki Haley is intensifying her criticism of former President Donald Trump and drawing a contrast between their approaches to governing.
The former ambassador to the United Nations is characterizing the nomination contest as a two-person race, and she and her campaign are focused on targeting Trump.
“Trump says things. Americans aren’t stupid to just believe what he says,” Haley told reporters Thursday during a campaign stop in Hollis, New Hampshire. “The reality is — who lost the House for us? Who lost the Senate? Who lost The White House? Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Donald Trump.”
These direct attacks on Trump deviate from Haley’s usual dismissiveness of the former president and have emerged as Haley attempts to close the gap with Trump in New Hampshire.
During campaign stops throughout the Granite State, she’s been urging voters to move past “the political chaos” that follows Trump and consider her as the alternative to his “drama.”
“My style is different (from Trump’s). No vendettas, no trauma, no vengeance. It’s about results,” Haley said in Hollis.
For his part, Trump is swinging harder at Haley, mocking her birth name on Truth Social, referring to her as “Nimbra” and saying “she doesn’t have what it takes.” Haley, born “Nimarata Nikki Randhawa” in South Carolina, goes by her middle name.
At a campaign stop in Amherst on Friday, Haley brushed off Trump’s slur and assured voters the name-calling is just evidence of Trump’s fear.
“I’ll let people decide what he means by his attacks,” Haley said. “What we know is, look, he’s clearly insecure. If he goes and does his temper tantrum, if he’s going and spending millions of dollars on TV, he’s insecure. He knows that something’s wrong. I don’t sit there and worry about whether it’s personal or what he means by the end of the day,” Haley said.
CBS News
Kamala Harris will speak with “60 Minutes” tomorrow. Here’s what to know for the interview.
Voters will get the chance to hear from Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday as she presents her case for why she should be president in a “60 Minutes” election special.
For decades, “60 Minutes” has featured both Republican and Democratic nominees for presidents, but this year, former President Donald Trump backed out after previously indicating he would be on the show. Correspondent Scott Pelley, who’d been set to interview Trump, will instead travel to Arizona’s Maricopa County, home to more than 60% of Arizona’s voters and a critical battleground in a key swing state.
One thing is certain about the election; with the U.S. deeply involved in both the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, whoever wins on Nov. 5 will become a wartime president.
What Harris will discuss
Israel’s war started one year ago after Hamas launched a surprise terror attack and correspondent Bill Whitaker will discuss the ongoing war with Harris.
Harris will also discuss the economy, immigration, her record as vice president and the differences between herself and Trump.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz will also appear.
Whitaker joined the Democratic ticket on the campaign trail this week to gain insight into their platform’s priorities and values, and what the candidates believe voters should know.
Why Trump pulled out of the “60 Minutes” interview
Leading up to the candidate hour, Trump, through campaign spokespeople, was the first candidate to accept the “60 Minutes” request to be interviewed for the special, according to CBS News. It had been agreed that both candidates would receive equal time during the broadcast.
Trump last sat down with 60 Minutes in 2020. He walked out during the interview with Lesley Stahl. Trump referenced the incident on Tuesday night at a Milwaukee press conference when asked about his decision not to participate in the Oct. 7 “60 Minutes” election special.
“Well, right now, I went to – they came to me and would like me to do an interview, but first I want to get an apology, because the last time I did an interview with them, if you remember, they challenged me on the computer,” Trump said. “They said the ‘laptop from hell’ was from Russia, and I said it wasn’t from Russia. It was from Hunter, and I never got an apology, so I’m sort of waiting. I’d love to do ’60 Minutes.’ I do everything.”
The Republican nominee for president emphasized that he felt he was owed an apology from “60 Minutes.”
“Let’s see if they do it. I wouldn’t mind doing 60,” Trump continued. “I’ve done ’60 Minutes’ a lot.”
In a statement on Tuesday, Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said that Trump’s team had not agreed to an interview.
“Fake News,” Cheung said in a post on X. “60 Minutes begged for an interview, even after they were caught lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop back in 2020. There were initial discussions, but nothing was ever scheduled or locked in. They also insisted on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented.”
Previous Trump, Harris appearances on 60 Minutes
Trump previously sat down with “60 Minutes'” Mike Wallace in 1985, Pelley in 2015 and Lesley Stahl twice in 2016, first in July of that year and then again in November of 2016. He also spoke with Stahl again in 2018 and 2020.
Harris previously sat down with Whitaker last year. She also was interviewed by Norah O’Donnell, “CBS Evening News” anchor and “60 Minutes” contributing correspondent, in 2020.
How to watch the “60 Minutes” election special
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