A spokesperson for former President Donald Trump ripped Nikki Haley’s address in South Carolina on Tuesday over social media, briefly wrangling with some of her campaign staffers.
The former South Carolina governor, and the final major Republican challenger to Trump’s 2024 reelection bid, addressed supporters in her home state just days before South Carolina’s GOP primary, and reassured that she is staying in the presidential race despite her losses to Trump so far.
“I feel no need to kiss the ring,” Haley said on Tuesday. “And I have no fear of Trump’s retribution. I’m not looking for anything from him.”
Allison Joyce/Getty Images; Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung dismissed Haley’s statement in a post to X, formerly Twitter, shortly after her speech, however, writing, “She’s going to drop down to kiss a** when she quits, like she always does.”
The comment received backlash from a handful of users online, including Haley’s campaign manager Betsy Ankney, who posted in response to Cheung, “What a move.”
“@The StevenCheung is the key to winning back suburban women!” Ankney quipped, referring to Trump’s issues with winning over suburban women voters in 2020.
Haley spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas also responded to Cheung’s post on X, writing “xoxo” alongside an emoji of a face blowing a kiss.
Cheung shot back at both of Haley’s team members, responding to Ankney, “Have you all even won a state yet? Or are you going to cry and whine about being a loser? Betting that you’ll cry and whine about it some more.”
He also responded to Perez-Cubas, “All of our internship positions have been filled, but maybe you can apply for next term.”
Newsweek reached out to Cheung and Haley’s communications team via email for further comment on Tuesday.
Haley, who served two terms as governor of South Carolina before serving as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump’s administration in 2017, faces pressure to perform well in Saturday’s GOP primary vote in her home state. Polling analyzed by FiveThirtyEight shows her trailing Trump by over 30 points in the Palmetto State, although Haley said during her speech on Tuesday that she is not worried about what preliminary polls say.
“Dropping out would be the easy route,” she said. “I’ve been the underdog in every race I’ve ever run. I’ve always been David taking on Goliath. And like David, I’m not just fighting someone bigger than me. I’m fighting for something bigger than myself.”
Grant Davis Reeher, political science professor at Syracuse University, previously told Newsweek that there was still a chance for Haley’s campaign to overtake Trump’s before the Republican National Committee selects its nominee in July.
“It doesn’t look likely, but you never know, and at this point she is the clear No. 2,” Reeher said Tuesday.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.