Former South Carolina Republican Governor Nikki Haley punched back during a contentious Tuesday morning interview on “Fox & Friends,” claiming that the media was attempting to run over her in their efforts to “coronate” former President Donald Trump as the Republican presidential nominee.
The former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations — who is hoping to take a bite out of Trump’s sizable lead with Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary — told the show’s hosts that she intended to stay in the race “no matter what” because the American people “want a choice.”
WATCH:
Contentious Fox and Friends interview w/ Haley this AM as she pushes back on their insinuations of dropping out after NH.
Haley: “I don’t care how much y’all want to coronate Donald Trump. At the end of the day, that’s not what Americans want. Americans want a choice.“ pic.twitter.com/TPULIPJVcR
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) January 23, 2024
“If you don’t win today, do you go on to South Carolina? You don’t want to go into your state and lose that state if you stay in the race,” Ainsley Earhardt — who also hails from South Carolina — was the first to start down that particular line of questioning. “What is your response to that? Do you get out if you lose today?”
“No, I don’t get out if I lose today,” Haley was adamant. “First of all, again, I’m going to say this: we’ve had 56,000 people vote for Donald Trump. And you’re going to say that’s what the country wants. That’s not what the country wants. We’re going to have New Hampshire vote today. They deserve to have the power of their voice.”
Earhardt continued to press, asking Haley whether she worried that the numbers after Iowa — where Trump took 51% of the vote, followed by Governor Ron DeSantis with 21% and Haley with 19% — had been indicative of the whole country. She also asked whether Haley was concerned about the fact that she was polling 40 points behind Trump in her home state, where the primary vote will be held in one month’s time.
Haley again said she did not intend to leave the race, prompting a follow-up from co-host Brian Kilmeade: “There’s no scenario where it stops tonight.”
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“I’m going to fight no matter what. I don’t care how much y’all want to coronate Donald Trump. At the end of the day, that’s not what Americans want,” Haley continued. “Americans want a choice. And we’re going to give them that same.”
“Coronate, lie, not tell the truth, what you said on the couch … I’m really wondering why you think we’re the enemy,” Kilmeade protested.
“Because I’ve looked at the media, look at the media saying, ‘Oh, this is Donald Trump’s to have,’ look at the political class all coalescing and saying, ‘everybody needs to get out,'” Haley replied. “That’s not democracy. That’s not who we are … When have we ever had two people, down to two people, in New Hampshire and you say, ‘Oh, it’s over.’ We don’t do that.”