Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley slammed former President Donald Trump in a CNN interview on Monday afternoon for the former president's recent comments disparaging her active-duty husband's military service in a campaign stop in her home state over the weekend.
Haley is the last major Republican candidate challenging Trump for the 2024 presidential nomination, although polling currently suggests Trump has a near-insurmountable advantage over her.
"Your husband, Michael, is a major with the South Carolina Army National Guard, currently deployed in the Horn of Africa," said anchor Jake Tapper. "In those remarks on Saturday, President Trump also questioned your husband's whereabouts as part of his campaign speech ... why do you think this is what Donald Trump is choosing to focus on right now, and were you surprised at the cheering from the South Carolina audience for a smearing of a South Carolina servicemember?"
"The first thing I'll say, it's disgusting," said Haley. "And let's take it and move me and Michael out of it. If you're going to go and criticize a combat veteran, you criticize one veteran, you're criticizing all of them."
Trump has a history of attacking soldiers, Gold Star families and former prisoner of war, Sen. John McCain (R-A.Z.) for being "captured."
'But this continues to be a pattern of what he's doing, whether he is sitting there calling them suckers, whether he's in Arlington Cemetery saying, why would they do this?" Haley continued. "Not understanding that, no, my husband has not been with me in a presidential campaign because he's serving our country. I'm incredibly proud of him, and every man and woman that serve our country and are willing to shed blood for our country."
She went on to say that it's unacceptable to think he can speak about such things "so carelessly."
"If you don't understand that it's their shoulders that we stand on — if you don't understand that — everybody knows someone who has either lost their life or served this country in a way that's allowed us to keep our freedoms — that is not someone who deserves to be commander-in-chief because if you don't respect our military," Haley explained. "How should we think you're going to respect them when it comes to times of war and prevent war and keep them from going," she continued. "It's just — it was awful. Everything about it was awful, everyone should condemn it."
"This is nothing partisan," added Haley. "If you don't have respect for our military and our veterans, God help us all if that's the case."
Watch the video below or at the link here.
Nikki Haley calls Trump's comments on her husband's service "disgusting"www.youtube.com
