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Nikki Haley's open challenge to Trump, doesn't want him barred from 2024 ballot
Nikki Haley said that the former president shouldn't be removed from the ballot, vowing to defeat him "fair and square" without anyone's assistance.
As the US Supreme Court is set to review a Colorado ruling removing Donald Trump from the state ballot, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley said that the former president shouldn't be removed from the ballot, vowing to defeat him "fair and square" without anyone's assistance.
During a Fox News town hall in Iowa on Monday night, Republican presidential candidate Haley said: “No, he shouldn't be taken off the ballot and the Supreme Court needs to rule quickly before other states start to do this.”
"This is one of those, don't open a door if you don't want to see what happens this is a door we don't need to open. I will defeat President Trump fair and square. I don't need anybody throwing him off the ballot to do it."
On February 8, the US Supreme Court will hear a plea from Trump on whether a Colorado top court's ruling could prevent him from appearing on the March Republican presidential primary ballot. In December, the Colorado court voted to remove the ex-president from the ballot, citing the 14th Amendment and his alleged involvement in the January 6th riot at the US Capitol, which Democrats have referred to as an "insurrection."
Also Read: Nikki Haley roars past Donald Trump in New Hampshire poll within 4 points
Nikki Haley says Americans can decide if they want Trump on ballot
Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, lambasted Trump's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that “you can't tell people what to think and how to live”.
“But this started back with COVID. The idea that you have people telling people what to do, how to think, how to live, all of that, that's wrong. If they can do this to him, they'll do it to someone else. We can't have others saying, I don't think he should be on the ballot. I think Americans can decide on their own whether they want him to be on the ballot or not,” she said.
Trump launches sharpest attack on Haley to date
Ahead of the Iowa and New Hampshire primary contests, Trump on Friday launched his most scathing attack on GOP opponent Haley. He also mocked her over failure to mention slavery when she was asked at a New Hampshire town hall what led to the Civil War.
Calling Haley an establishment figure, Trump claimed that she was "in the pocket of" establishment funders. He mentioned that donors who backed President Joe Biden had contributed to the campaign of Haley.
Several states have made an attempt to bar Trump from the presidential primary due to his involvement in the Capitol riot. Colorado, however, was the only state where a case against Trump made it all the way to the state Supreme Court. Last week, Shenna Bellows, the Democratic secretary of state for Maine, prevented Trump from running in the state's presidential primary ballot. Following this, Trump filed a lawsuit against Bellows.
