Nikki Haley told Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump not to take the criticism she offered up in her Republican response to the State of the Union address personally, though she affirmed Wednesday she aimed her barbs in part at him.
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But Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, appeared Thursday at the retreat to try to ease the Haley-Trump controversy and bridge the divide, saying she understands voters have “a lot of frustration” with how Washington is being run.
Trump reportedly came out swinging against Haley Wednesday, attacking her on immigration and saying he wasn’t anxious about alienating her.
Eight or even four years from now one could see her running for the U.S. Senate or even for President, said Niraj Antani, the 24-year-old OH state Representative, a GOP wunderkind himself. He was one. There’s other people in the media.
“This is, to me, one of the greatest bits of evidence that the Republican Party is not just anti-conservative, but it is very much pro-elite”, he said.
She said under a GOP president, Republicans would lower taxes, curb spending and debt and strengthen the military.
In response, Trump shot back at the SC governor, calling her “weak” on illegal immigration. He describes himself as a “very conservative” Republican, and said, “Nikki Haley has very strong convictions”.
“Well considering I’m leading in the polls by a lot, I wouldn’t say she’s off to a good start” to be his vice presidential candidate, Trump said Wednesday on Fox News.
She faced a backlash from some conservatives, who interpreted her remarks as a call for unlimited legal immigration into the country, something they reject. What I will tell you is, the Syrian refugees, I said when the Federal Bureau of Investigation director called and told me that he had no way of knowing what their past was, we said, well, we don’t want them.
“You know, I have disagreements with other presidential candidates”, she said. Thus, there is plenty of incentive to display it. However, nomination-seekers must be mindful that, if successful, they will need to win over a significantly less angry audience later in the year.
Commentator and author Ann Coulter was more blunt, tweeting, “Trump should deport Nikki Haley”. “We must resist that temptation”, Haley said in her Tuesday response.
Some other conservatives were not impressed that South Carolina’s first woman and minority governor criticized her own party.
Nance thinks that overall, Governor Haley made a very positive speech. “But I will say, tone matters, message matters, and responsibility matters”.
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HORSLEY: A White House spokesman praised Haley this afternoon for what he called her courageous willingness to speak out against Trump’s fiery rhetoric. “She’s worked hard in a place like SC to bring people together”, Bharara said.
