Former president Donald Trump has faced off against multiple Republican candidates vying for the Republican nomination for president in the 2024 election.
Many of the candidates from the Republican Party and Democratic Party have earned nicknames from Trump over the years, and now a candidate surging up the Republican polls has earned a new moniker.
What Happened: A recent poll of national Republican voters saw Trump with a 55-point lead. Trump's next closest competitors were Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, who were both tied with 11% of support.
DeSantis has fallen in recent polls, and Haley has been surging and hitting record highs.
Haley, who previously served as the United States ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, has had a love-hate relationship with the former president in recent years.
As Haley surges in the polls, Trump has launched a new attack against her with an email blast to supporters giving the former South Carolina governor the new nickname "Nikki New Taxes," as shared by the New York Post.
The email from Trump's campaign committee that went out Friday labeled Haley as the "Kiss of Death: Nikki New Taxes."
"The truth if finally coming out about Nikki Haley's troublesome record showing her total disdain for the working class and a willingness to sell out to lobbyist parasites," the email read.
The email highlighted a "whopping" 60% increase in the state gas tax in South Carolina, something Haley promised voters she would never do.
"She also voted for an unconscionable 20% increase in the state sales tax, making her the enemy of the working-class and an ally of lobbyist cronies taking advantage of impressionable politicians looking for their approval."
The email also blasted Haley as a "RINO," a term that means Republican in name only. The email said Haley is supporting reforms that are "ripping away Medicare and Social Security and increasing the retirement age."
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Why It's Important: The new nickname for Haley comes as Trump has placed nicknames on multiple opponents throughout his political career.
In the 2016 presidential election, Trump labeled his Democratic foe Hillary Clinton as "Crooked Hillary." In the 2020 presidential election, Trump ran against Joe Biden and labeled the current president as "Sleepy Joe."
In the current 2024 presidential election race, Trump is now using "Crooked Biden" as a nickname for the president, saying he was retiring the Crooked Hillary name.
Trump has also placed nicknames that include "Ron DeSanctimonius," "DeSanctus," "Tiny D" and "Meatball Ron" on his Republican opponent DeSantis.
Republican opponent Chris Christie has also been labeled as "Sloppy Chris Christie" by Trump. In the 2016 election, Trump also placed the nicknames "Lyin' Ted Cruz" and "Little Marco Rubio" on two of his Republican challengers.
The good news for Haley might be that the new nickname and email attack from Trump, coinciding with her surge in the polls, suggests she’s increasingly seen as a significant threat by him.
Trump previously said the reason he attacks DeSantis so much is because the Florida governor was in second place.
"Somebody said, ‘how come you only attack (DeSantis)?' I said, ‘Cause he's in second place. But soon, I don't think he'll be in second place, so I'll be attacking somebody else,'" Trump previously said.
Coincidentally, Haley recently pledged that she would pardon Trump if she wins the 2024 presidential election.
"What's in the best interest of the county is not to have an 80-year-old man sitting in jail, that continues to divide our country," Haley said.
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Photo: Gage Skidmore on flickr
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