‘I Never Once Said That!’ Nikki Haley Denies Making Claim She Absolutely Made When Confronted With DeSantis Criticism

Nikki Haley (R-SC) pounced on a claim by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) when asked about it at Monday’s presidential town hall on Fox News hosted by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.

“So, governor, Governor DeSantis is hitting you for claiming the retirement age is, quote, ‘way, way too low.’ He said, quote, ‘I don’t know why she is saying that.’ So, are you saying that? Where do you stand on that?” Baier asked.

“I have never once said that!” Haley answered.

In fact, she did. In a Bloomberg interview a few months ago, Haley proposed raising the retirement age. She declined to propose a new number, but she said the current age of 65 is “way too low.”

Baier interjected to fact-check Haley.

“But wait, wait, wait, wait,” Baier said. ” In a Bloomberg interview, you said, ‘Anyone who says they’ll leave America bankrupt, social security will go bankrupt, Medicare will. So we don’t touch anyone’s retirement. But, go to people like my kids in their 20’s and tell them the rules have changed. Change the retirement age to reflect life expectancy.”

“Yes, for those in their 20’s,” Haley said, continuing:

I have never said retirement age is way too low for everyone else. I mean, he’s totally misrepresenting the facts. That’s what he’s done. Ron continues to lie because he’s losing.

But the reality is, that is what I have always said, is, America should keep her promises, every time. But rather than saying you’re not going to touch it, like Ron says, we have to touch it! But we have to also be honest and over-communicate with those in their 20s that this is what we’re going to do. But if we do this, we will make sure you have something to go forward with.

And it’s also letting seniors and those in their 40s and 50s know, don’t worry, we’re not looking to touch yours. We’re looking to actually save it so that you have something when your time comes.

Watch the clip above via Fox News.

Update: The headline of this story has been updated to more accurately reflect the context of Haley’s denial.