Presidential candidate Nikki Haley called fellow candidate Donald Trump “weak in the knees” on Ukraine policy.
During Haley’s campaign stop in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the former South Carolina governor was asked how Trump would be remembered.
“He was the right president at the right time,” Haley said. “He broke things that needed to be broken. He listened and brought in a group of people who felt unheard.”
While she gave him compliments, Haley also critiqued the former president, calling him “thin-skinned and easily distracted.”
“He didn’t do anything on fiscal policy and really spent a lot of money, and we’re paying the price for it,” she said. “He used to be good on foreign policy, and now he has started to walk it back and get weak in the knees when it comes to Ukraine.”
Haley has been one of the strongest supporters of Ukrainian military aid in the Republican primary, while Trump has wavered and failed to take a strong side.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion more than a year and a half ago, Republican support for Ukraine has waned. Even this week, disagreements over the federal budget inside the House GOP have focused heavily on funding for Ukraine.
Despite the negativity, Trump is still the leading pick as the Republican presidential candidate, according to a recent poll.
The Economist and YouGov asked around 1,500 U.S. adult citizens between August 26 and 29 who they would vote for if “the Republican presidential primary in your state were held today.”
Results show that 51 percent are in favor of Trump, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis comes in second with 14 percent.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy comes in a distant third with five percent. Haley comes in fourth with four percent, followed by former Vice President Mike Pence with three percent, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie with two percent, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott with two percent.
The survey also asked Republican voters who they would be disappointed to see become the GOP nominee; they were instructed to choose everyone who applied. Only 19 percent of respondents said they would be upset if Trump were the nominee, while 17 percent said the same about DeSantis and 15 percent said the same about Scott.
