Nikki Haley, a GOP presidential candidate, urged Republican voters to wait before supporting Donald Trump until the outcome of his pending criminal trials is known.
She criticized Trump’s involvement in blocking a congressional border bill, emphasizing the need for a new border security plan.
Haley clarified her previous comments on secession, stating that states do not have the right to leave the country.
“I think the American people deserve to know what the situation is going to be,” Haley said.
“For the next year, (Trump is) going to be sitting a courtroom,” she said.
“I think it speaks for itself that he’s saying he’s going to be spending more time in a courtroom than he’s going to be spending on the campaign trail. We’ve got a country in disarray and a world on fire,” she said.
She warned that Trump’s legal challenges could impact his presidential campaign, and criticized his approach to border politics.
Trump’s allies criticized Haley’s statements, while she sought to explain her remarks on secession, stating that she did not intend to express support for it and emphasized the constitutional limitations on secession.
Trump “is absolutely playing politics” regarding the border, Haley said.
“He shouldn’t be getting involved telling Republicans that wait until the election because we don’t want this to help Biden win. We can’t wait one more day.”
“Nikki Haley reeks of desperation,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said, adding “it’s clear she knows she has no shot” and “is now auditioning for a cable news contract when her 15 minutes are over.”
“If Texas decides they want to do that, they can do that,” Haley said. “If that whole state says, ‘We don’t want to be part of America anymore,’ I mean, that’s their decision to make.”
“Let’s talk about what’s reality. Texas isn’t going to secede.”
“The Constitution doesn’t allow for that,” Haley later said.
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