Nikki Haley's campaign hits back after Trump trashes her in combative victory speech

Trump's "angry rant" offered "nothing about his vision for our country’s future," Haley's comms director said

By Tatyana Tandanpolie

Staff Writer

Published January 24, 2024 11:32AM (EST)

Republican presidential hopeful and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks after results came in for the New Hampshire primaries during a watch party in Concord, New Hampshire, on January 23, 2024. (JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
Republican presidential hopeful and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks after results came in for the New Hampshire primaries during a watch party in Concord, New Hampshire, on January 23, 2024. (JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)

Nikki Haley fired back at Donald Trump Tuesday after the former president took aim at her during his New Hampshire primary victory speech. Trump dedicated a portion of his remarks to bemoaning Haley's decision to remain in the 2024 contest, highlighting her "very bad night" and calling her an "imposter" who's still "hanging around" despite losing both last night and in last week's Iowa caucus. 

"We beat her so badly," Trump told his crowd of supporters, adding: "I can say to everybody, ‘Thank you for the victories, it’s wonderful’ or I can go up and say, ‘Who the hell was the imposter that went up on the stage before and claimed a victory?’ She did very poorly actually.”

Haley's communications director was quick to deliver a sharp response, swiping at Trump's lackluster wins. “Two states have now voted in the presidential race, and Donald Trump barely received half of the vote — not exactly a ringing endorsement for a former president demanding a coronation," Nachama Soloveichik said. “His angry rant was filled with grievances and offered the American people nothing about his vision for our country’s future,” Soloveichik continued. “This is why so many voters want to move on from Trump’s chaos and are rallying to Nikki Haley’s new generation of conservative leadership.”

Trump won 54 percent of the vote, 11 percent more than Haley's 43 percent, in the New Hampshire primary. Following the results announcement, Haley congratulated the GOP frontrunner but declared that the race is "not over," adding, "New Hampshire is first in the nation. It is not the last in the nation.” She came in third place in last week's Iowa primary, following closely behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who ended his presidential bid Sunday.