Nikki Haley Attacks Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis Over Ukraine

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Nikki Haley, 51, a former governor of South Carolina, announced her White House bid in February

Washington:

Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, UN ambassador under former President Donald Trump, went after her former boss and 2024 rival Ron DeSantis on Sunday for refusing to say whether they want Ukraine to win its war against in Russia.

In recent town hall events, Donald Trump, the favorite for the Republican presidential nomination, said he wants the war to end, but he will help Ukraine and Russia negotiate a settlement.

Florida Governor DeSantis, Donald Trump’s closest rival for the Republican nomination, recently said he supports a war settlement, and hopes the fighting will be over by the time the next president takes the oath of office in January 2025.

Haley, the only woman in the race for the Republican nomination, blasted DeSantis for saying this year that Ukraine was a “territorial dispute”, a comment that drew widespread criticism and that she backtracked on.

“For them to sit there and say this is a territorial dispute — that’s just not the case, or to say we should remain neutral,” Haley told voters in Iowa’s early nominating state during a televised CNN town hall event.

“It is in the best interest of our national security for Ukraine to win,” he added.

Ukraine is a divisive issue among Republicans, given a wedge between many of the party’s core voters.

Haley, 51, a former governor of South Carolina, declared her bid for the White House in February but finds herself in a crowded Republican field that will reach double digits this week as more contenders enter, including former Vice President Mike Pence.

Trump leads the field among potential Republican primary voters with 49% support. DeSantis is next with 19%. There was a yawning chasm between them and the rest of the field, including Haley; he has just 4% support, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll conducted in May.

Haley and many of her single-digit polling rivals are trying to differentiate themselves from DeSantis, hoping to trip him up and become the primary alternative to Trump.

But some have also begun criticizing Trump himself, after months of refraining from attacking the former president for fear of alienating his hardcore supporters.

On Sunday he also criticized Trump for congratulating North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week after the country was elected to the World Health Organization’s executive board. Trump has also praised the North Korean leader in the past.

“Kim Jong Un is a thug,” Haley said. “I don’t think we should congratulate dictators.”

Trump also blasted DeSantis and Pence for congratulating Kim, at separate events over the weekend in Iowa, the state that will kick off the battle for next year’s nominee.

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