Haley questions Trump’s ‘mental fitness’ for office of president after Pelosi gaffe at rally

Republican candidate Nikki Haley has questioned whether rival Donald Trump is “mentally fit” after the former president confused her with former Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi during a rant at a rally at the weekend.

Fresh off a landslide win in Iowa, the former president hopes to cement his hold on the Republican nomination contest in New Hampshire, which votes next, and only Ms Haley stands in the way after Ron Desantis pulled out of the race last night.

He had plenty to say about Ms Haley over the weekend. His former UN ambassador, he said, wasn’t “tough enough”, “smart enough”, or “respected enough” to be the commander-in-chief.

“She’s down very low [in polls]. We’ll finish it off. This could end it,” he said ahead of tomorrow’s election in the Granite State.

Mr Trump is not wrong. The result could determine the trajectory of the Republican primary contest.

If Mr Trump (77) repeats the large margin of victory he secured in the Iowa caucuses last week, it is likely to be game over for Ms Haley (51). But Ms Haley’s bet on New Hampshire has put her head-to-head with Mr Trump, and in contention to win the state.

To power her to victory she is relying on a broad voter coalition, made up of Republicans who have tired of Mr Trump, and independents, who are able to vote in the state’s open primary.

In a state where the motto is “live free or die”, non-party affiliated voters make up almost two-fifths of the electorate.

They may play an even more pivotal role this year because there is no real contest on the Democratic side.

Aware of the threat, Mr Trump has already laid the foundation to claim foul play. He has claimed Democrats could “infiltrate” the race, although the deadline to switch party registration was in October.

Mr Trump appears to be so unsettled by his 51-year-old rival he even uses her name seemingly unintentionally.

During his rally in Concord, he launched into a segue that seemed to reference Nancy Pelosi, the former Democratic House Speaker.

But it was the name “Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley,” that he uttered on repeat.

The crowd booed at the mention of the former South Carolina governor’s name. But some looked confused.

Ms Haley lost no time in highlighting the gaffe, and pressing her advantage. “They’re saying he got confused,” Ms Haley told her own supporters in Keene, western New Hampshire.

“I’m not saying anything derogatory,” she continued, “but when you’re dealing with the pressures of the presidency, we can’t have someone else that we question whether they’re mentally fit to do this.”

Ms Haley’s willingness to hit Mr Trump with personal attacks is testament to the make-or-break stage of her campaign.

Mr Trump too has ramped up the rhetoric in recent days – nicknaming Ms Haley “Nimbra”, in what has been criticised as a dog-whistle reference to her given name, Nimarata.

He has even given oxygen to a false “birther” conspiracy that Ms Haley is not eligible to become a US president on account of her Indian heritage.

Steven Cheung, Mr Trump’s campaign spokesman, has dismissed allegations of racism as “faux outrage”.

Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s press secretary, said they were “very confident that he remains in a strong position to win”.

“It’s just too bad that Nikki Haley [doesn’t realise she has] no practical pathway to the nomination,” she said.

Ms Haley has been undeterred, criss-crossing the state’s snowy, rugged terrain, promising to shake every hand and answer any question.

“It’s the Haley and Trump show all week,” said New Hampshire-based strategist Jim Merrill, who held senior roles in campaigns of George W Bush, Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio.

He said: “It’s one of the last opportunities for voters to send the message that they want to make a change from Donald Trump and I think Nikki Haley has positioned herself to be in striking distance.”

New Hampshire’s electorate, Mr Merrill added, poses a “challenge” for Mr Trump. It is wealthier, has more university-educated voters, and favours candidates who have broader appeal.

But he cautions against viewing New Hampshire’s large independent constituency as a given advantage for Ms Haley.

“This is not a monolithic voting bloc,” he said, describing it as a healthy mix of conservatives, libertarians and progressives. Added to which, Ms Haley must still contend with Mr Trump’s unshakeable grip over the Republican grassroots.

Hundreds of his supporters waited patiently in a snow-covered car park for over an hour to see the former president in Concord on Friday night.Some wore red “MAGA” woolly hats or scarves to shield them from the bitterly cold winds as temperatures fell to -7C. (© Telegraph Media Group Ltd 2024)

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