Nikki Haley called Donald Trump his “own worst enemy” while appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
With the Republican presidential primary down to two candidates, Haley has been enduring a majority of Trump’s rage in recent weeks.
But the former South Carolina governor told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker that she thinks the former president’s outbursts only prove how he’s unfit for a second term as president.
“I laugh every time I see one of his tweets, every time I see him throw a temper tantrum, because I know Donald Trump very well,” said Haley, who served as his U.N. ambassador for two years.
“When he feels insecure, he starts to rail, he starts to rant, he starts to flail his arms and he starts to get upset.”
“When he feels threatened, he starts to throw all kinds of things out there,” she continued. “I would always tell him he was his own worst enemy. He’s proving that right now.”
Recently, Trump’s attacks on Haley have gotten increasingly racist. He has resorted to mocking Haley by her given name, Nimarata, and suggesting she is ineligible for office as the daughter of Indian immigrants. (Haley was born in South Carolina, making her eligible for the presidency.)
Haley, seen here hosting a rally in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Jan. 24, slammed Trump as “insecure” on “Meet the Press” this weekend.Anadolu via Getty Images
Elsewhere in the interview, Haley also said she thinks that Trump’s lack of composure in the courtroom is a cause for concern.
After Trump lashed out at a New York jury’s $83.3 million defamation judgment last week, Haley said Americans can “see that he’s completely distracted; they see that he’s going on these rants about how he’s the victim, and I think that’s exactly what we don’t need a strong leader to be.”
“These court cases are going to keep happening. One by one, we’re going to keep seeing him in a courtroom and we’re going to see him come out and do a press conference,” she said. “That’s not what you want a president to be, but more than that, that’s not what we want Russia to see, that’s not what we want China to see and that’s not what we want Iran to see.”
In addition to his personal attacks on Haley, Trump has also tried to strong-arm her potential donors.
On Wednesday in a Truth Social post, he said anyone who donates money to his opponent would be “barred from the MAGA camp.”
Haley called his warning “totally unhinged” during an interview on Fox News on Friday and her campaign later announced it had received $1 million in donations after Trump’s threat.
Watch Haley’s full interview on “Meet the Press” below:
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