Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks at an event in Des Moines, Iowa. Credit: DAVE KOUP/Reuters
Nikki Haley, Republican Presidential nominee, suggested the United States «needs to team up» with countries including Russia due to a serious campaign gaffe.
Asked by WMUR-TV to talk about regions of the world that she thinks the US Ms. Haley, who served in the Trump administration as ambassador to the UN, could have paid more attention to, first said «the Arab world», saying the US needed, so that the Arab countries «sort of join us» in countering Iran.
< p> «You see that Saudi Arabia makes deals with China, this is not good for us. We need them to be with us, and then we need to unite with others, Russia, Australia, Japan, Israel,” added Hayley.
“We need to start focusing on the allies we have other than the Europeans and make sure we have more friends – one for our needs so we don’t depend on the enemy for energy or medicine or whatever and then second, to make sure we build these alliances to make the world a safer place.»
Ms. Haley's campaign said Saturday that the candidate misspoke.
«That's absolutely ridiculous, she clearly misspoke,» spokesman Ken Farnaso told The Associated Press on Saturday. «No one has been tougher on Russia than Nikki Haley.»
Asked to comment on the interview, Ms Haley, in a statement to AP, called the country an «enemy» and called Vladimir Putin a «thug». “I fought them at the UN and will continue to fight them,” Ms Haley said. «They want to destroy us and our allies and cannot be trusted.»
During her tenure as ambassador to the United Nations under the Trump administration, Haley has been critical of Russia, denouncing its invasion of Crimea and condemning the country for «holding hands» on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un when the countries squabbled over sanctions. She also called Russian corruption a «virus» that «hinders our ability to achieve the complete denuclearization of North Korea.»
There has been division among Republicans over how the US should respond to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In response to a question earlier this year from then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Haley said US support for Ukraine is critical to an anti-American regime that is «trying to brutally and forcefully infiltrate a neighboring pro-American country.» stating that a Russian victory would only make countries like China and Iran «more aggressive».
At the time, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has since entered the Republican primary, argued that stopping aggression not a vital US strategic interest, characterizing the situation as a «territorial dispute».
A number of Republican colleagues were critical of Mr. DeSantis' initial remarks. Mr. Trump, who called on European countries to share more of the financial burden of protecting Ukraine, said Mr. DeSantis' responses were «in line with what I'm saying.» A day later, Ms. Haley said she agreed with Mr. Trump that «DeSantis is copying him,» writing in an op-ed that characterizing the war as a «territorial dispute» represented a «weakness.»
These criticisms, according to Mr. DeSantis, in his previous comments, were about the ongoing fighting in eastern Donbass, as well as the 2014 Russian takeover of Crimea. Ukraine's borders are internationally recognized, including by the United Nations.
For months, Stand for America, the political action supercommittee backing Ms. Haley, has sought to draw a contrast between the former Southern Carolina governor and Ms. Mr. DeSantis.
«While DeSantis shifts his political stance based on the mood of his donors and broadcasters, Haley never backs down,» Mark Harris, lead strategist at Stand for America, said in a report. release last month.
Свежие комментарии