Nikki Haley making same mistake that doomed non-Trump 2016 candidates: reporter

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is the first Republican who has stepped in to challenge former President Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential nomination.

However, Semafor reporter Benjy Sarlin thinks that Haley might already be making the same kinds of mistakes that doomed non-Trump candidates in 2016, as she is not being explicit enough in her reasons for wanting to challenge Trump for the nomination.

"I always tell this story about 2016 where Rubio would say he's a 'new generation,' knowing reporters would interpret it as an attack on Jeb," Sarlin mused on Twitter Wednesday morning. "Then Trump would just say the subtext out loud: 'George W. Bush: Terrible president.' History repeating itself."

He then linked this error by Rubio to Haley's current campaign strategy where she says it's time for "new" leadership without specifying why such leadership is needed.

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"Nikki Haley says she's a 'new generation' right out the gate," he notes. "Okay, who's the previous generation? Is it Trump? Where did he go wrong then? Weren't you saying everything was great up until Jan 6th and you're so proud of his record? Say what you mean, no need for Times-speak!"

Trump has remained largely silent about Haley's candidacy so far and has instead trained more of his fire on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whom polls suggest is the bigger threat to Trump's pursuit of the nomination.