Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley claimed former President Trump has "endangered" the West by remarking at a recent rally that America would not necessarily protect a fellow NATO member that hasn't paid its dues to the alliance.
Haley also told Fox News she was dismayed by Trump's reaction to the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, whose passing and the circumstances surrounding it spurred speculation that it was an assassination directed by President Vladimir Putin.
Trump wrote on social media that Navalny's death "has made me more and more aware of what's happening in our country. It is a slow, steady progression with crooked radical left politicians and prosecutors and judges."
Haley argued Trump's comments were intentionally and obviously self-serving.
"This is on the heels of Trump saying that he would encourage Putin to invade any NATO countries that didn't pull their weight – And now the only comment he's going to make about Navalny is not hitting Putin for murdering him, not praising Navalny for fighting the corruption that was happening in Russia. But instead he's going to compare himself to Navalny and the victim that he is in his court cases?" she said.
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"That is my point. He is so distracted; he is so focused on himself, and America can't go through this. We won't survive it."
Haley said Trump's comments highlight why she says the Biden campaign wants Trump to be the GOP nominee because they feel he is the easiest candidate to defeat.
At the February 10 rally in Horry County, S.C., Trump recounted telling a world leader who offered a hypothetical situation where his country would not pay its NATO dues – currently 2% of GDP:
"No, I would not protect you, and in fact I would encourage [Russia] to do whatever the hell they want – you've got to pay your bills," Trump recalled responding.
On "The Story," Haley said her response to Russia would be more pointed, in that the U.S. would "solidify" its alliance within NATO and work to seize Russian assets and funnel the revenues to Ukraine to keep fighting the Kremlin.
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"And then you go and you add more countries to your alliance," she said, adding that the U.S. rightly pressures countries to "pull their own weight," but that NATO and Ukraine must be properly protected in order to put Putin "on his heels."
Haley said Putin has been intimidated by NATO in his 24 years as either president or prime minister, and that China feels similarly.
"And Trump just put us all in danger by going and exposing that," she argued.
With Trump's wide lead in Haley's home state ahead of Saturday's primary, the former governor went on to dismiss any conjecture that she would entertain a "No Labels" candidacy, further pledging not to drop out anytime soon:
"I feel no need to kiss the ring, and I have no fear of Trump's retribution," she said at a recent rally.
In response, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung fired off a pointed reply on X.
"She's going to drop down to kiss a-- when she quits like she always does," Cheung wrote.
After Trump questioned the absence of Haley's husband, Maj. Michael Haley – who is serving in Africa with the National Guard, Maj. Haley tweeted a photo of a wolf, captioned "The difference between humans and animals? Animals would never let the dumbest ones lead the pack."
As for Nikki Haley's long-term prospects, Wall Street Journal editorial board member Bill McGurn told Fox News her best path is remaining in the race because the front-runners both face political or legal "minefields."
"Nikki Haley's best bet is a convention where the delegates have to choose a person other than Trump because he was forced out… she could argue 'I'm the last man or woman standing. And, I fought it all the way. And I'm the best person to beat Biden'," he said.
