Maggie Haberman Mocks Back-Handed Praise of ‘Thin-Skinned’ Trump From Nikki Haley
New York Times correspondent and CNN analyst Maggie Haberman mocked Nikki Haley’s backhanded praise of ex-President Donald Trump — but did agree with the candidate’s assessment that Trump is “thin-skinned.”
On Thursday night’s edition of CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, anchor Kaitlan Collins played tape of Haley claiming Trump was “good on foreign policy” but then later got weak on Ukraine — which Haberman gently noted did not gibe with her own recollection:
COLLINS: We heard from Nikki Haley, today, who is doing better, in polls, at least in some of our New Hampshire polls. She’s in that race, for second place. She obviously worked for Trump, and was commenting, on him, today.
And she said this, about his legacy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI HALEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He was the right president at the right time.
He used to be good on foreign policy. And now, he has started to walk it back, and get weak in the knees, when it comes to Ukraine.
He was thin-skinned and easily distracted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HABERMAN: Well some things are true there, and some were not. What she said about how he used to be strong about Ukraine? That was a different period of time that I witnessed anyway, during the impeachment battle, the first impeachment battle, which was about Trump trying to withhold congressionally-approved Military aid, to Ukraine.
But in terms of that he is thin-skinned? I don’t think that anybody is taking issue with that characterization.
I do think that you are seeing Nikki Haley carve out a pretty interesting space, of separation, from Donald Trump. And you are correct that she is moving not just in New Hampshire, but in other States as well. The campaigns are all talking about it as well, that she is a threat, to DeSantis, but she’s a threat to anybody else, in the non-Trump lane.
And she is, look, she has a delicate line to walk because she did serve him, because she did defend him —
COLLINS: Yes.
HABERMAN: — any number of times.
I think one of the things that is complicating, for a lot of the folks, in this current field, who have praised Trump, at various points, some of them still, very much so, like Vivek Ramaswamy, is trying to reconcile, for voters, what is different.
But Kaitlan, Donald Trump is not a different Donald Trump. And I think that’s one of the things that is — sounds inauthentic, when these candidates are saying it.
COLLINS: Yes.
Watch above via CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins.
