October 2018, then US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Nikki Haley, the then US Ambassador to the United Nations in the Oval Office
Credit: Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
Nikki Haley, a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, has turned on former US president Donald Trump in blistering fashion, saying she was "disgusted" with the former president.
Ms Haley, 49, who was Mr Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, said he had "let us down" and "fallen so far".
The former governor of South Carolina has long been seen as a potential Republican nominee in four years, and started a political action committee last month.
Her comments set up a clear fissure in the Republican party as other would-be candidates, including Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, looked set to seek backing from Mr Trump’s followers.
Both senators were set to vote to acquit Mr Trump at the end of his current impeachment trial.
Ms Haley made clear her position in an interview with Politico, in which she disclosed that she had not spoken to Mr Trump since before his supporters invaded the US Capitol on January 6.
She did not believe Mr Trump himself would run for the Republican nomination in 2024, claiming he was no longer a "viable" candidate.
Ms Haley said: "I don’t think he’s going to be in the picture. I don’t think he can. He’s fallen so far. We need to acknowledge that he let us down.
"He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t let that ever happen again."
Ms Haley expressed particular condemnation of Mr Trump’s treatment of Mike Pence, his vice president, who he called a "coward" on January 6.
She said: "When I tell you I’m angry, it’s an understatement. I am so disappointed in the fact that [despite] the loyalty and friendship he had with Mike Pence, that he would do that to him. I’m disgusted by it."
Ms Haley was a high-profile member of Mr Trump’s cabinet, and was regarded as a star of his administration for her defence of the his America First policy on the world stage.
She unexpectedly resigned in late 2018 but was given an glowing public send-off by Mr Trump in the Oval Office, leading to speculation about a future presidential run. Starting last autumn the author of an exhaustive Politico profile, Tim Alberta, spent six hours talking to Ms Haley, and spoke to 70 associates including friends, former colleagues, staff and donors.
He wrote: "Two things are clear. First, Nikki Haley is going to run for president in 2024. Second, she doesn’t know which Nikki Haley will be on the ballot."
Before January 6 Ms Haley defended Mr Trump, arguing that he truly believed he had won the election. But after the Capitol riot her position changed dramatically.
Ms Haley said she still believed impeaching Mr Trump was a "waste of time" and said the end of his political career was enough of a consequence.
She said: "I think his business is suffering at this point. I think he’s lost any sort of political viability he was going to have.
"I think he’s lost his social media, which meant the world to him. I mean, I think he’s lost the things that really could have kept him moving."
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