Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Thursday hit back at Donald Trump for spreading a ‘birther’ conspiracy theory about her eligibility to serve as the United States president, stressing that the former commander-in-chief feels “insecure” and “threatened”.
This comes as Trump recently invoked a racist theory suggesting Indian-American Haley was ineligible to be the country's president because her Indian immigrant parents were not yet US citizens.
Appearing at a CNN town hall in New Hampshire, the former UN ambassador said she is “the proud daughter of Bamberg, South Carolina, so I love my sweet town and I'm proud to say I'm from there.”
“The name calling? I know Trump well. That's what he does when he feels threatened. That's what he does when he feels insecure,” the former South Carolina governor said.
Nikki Haley brushes off Donald Trump's name-calling
During the town hall, she was also asked about how Trump misspelled her Indian name -- ‘Nimarata Nikki Randhawa’ -- while targeting his Republican presidential contender on Truth Social.
{{/usCountry}}During the town hall, she was also asked about how Trump misspelled her Indian name -- ‘Nimarata Nikki Randhawa’ -- while targeting his Republican presidential contender on Truth Social.
{{/usCountry}}She said Trump’s race-baiting broadside "doesn’t bother" her.
“I know that I am a threat. I know that’s why he’s doing that. So it’s not going to waste any energy from me. I’m going to continue to focus on the things that people want to talk about and not get into the name-calling back with him," she asserted.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump misspelled Haley's Indian name that was given to her at the time of birth.
"Anyone listening to Nikki 'Nimrada' Haley's wacked out speech last night, would think that she won the Iowa Primary. She didn't, and she couldn't even beat a very flawed Ron DeSanctimonious, who's out of money, and out of hope," the Republican frontrunner wrote.
Earlier, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who dropped out of White race after finishing fourth in the Iowa primary, also targetted the former UN ambassador over her birth name.
Nikki Haley's campaign releases video showing Trump praising her
As the White House race between Republican candidates continues to become intense, Haley's campaign this week released videos mocking Trump and ones that featured his complimentary remarks about Haley during her tenure in his administration. She and her team have made it abundantly evident that Haley is acting as if Trump is her lone opponent, regardless of the fact she was unable to overtake Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in Iowa.