Ex-Trump official Nikki Haley on Putin: 'You never sleep with the devil because then the devil owns you'

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who served at the pleasure of then-President Donald Trump, reflected on the Ukraine conflict and warned that "you never sleep with the devil because then the devil owns you."

During an interview on Meet the Press, host Chuck Todd confronted Haley with a timeline of Trump's attempts to weaken sanctions against Russia.

"You don't think any of those things sent a message to Vladimir Putin that America is divided, the West is divided and he can get away with whatever he wants?" Todd asked.

"You kept saying [Trump] 'tried,'" Haley shot back. "All I know is what he did. And I was personally there at the United Nations when he got out of the Iran deal, when he sanctioned Putin, when he expelled diplomats."

"He did stronger things against Russian than Republican or Democrat presidents before him," she continued. "Putin knew not to mess with the United States. Putin needs to know that again. We need to start standing up. Why are we even ho-humming around the fact that we're still taking Russian oil? Why are we doing that?"

"You never sleep with the devil because then the devil owns you," she added.

Before ending the interview, Haley confirmed that she would put her presidential ambitions on hold if Trump decides to run again in 2024.

Watch the video below from NBC.