Nikki Haley questions Donald Trump's mental fitness after gaffe
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks during a rally in Peterborough, New Hampshire.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Follow topic:
WASHINGTON – Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley turned a spotlight on Donald Trump’s mental fitness on Jan 20, after the former president falsely accused her of failing to stop the violent assault on the United States Capitol
Trump, speaking on Jan 19 at a campaign event days ahead of New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary election, appeared to confuse Ms Haley with then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Referring to the Jan 6 insurrection by a mob of his supporters, Trump told a crowd: “Nikki Haley is in charge of security. We offered her 10,000 people – soldiers, National Guard, whatever they want – they turned it down. They don’t want to talk about that.”
Ms Haley – Trump’s top rival in the New Hampshire contest – pointed out not only was she not in charge of security at the Capitol, she was not even in office at the time.
“They’re saying he got confused, he was talking about something else,” the former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor said, at a New Hampshire rally.
“The concern I have is, I’m not saying anything derogatory, but when you’re dealing with the pressures of a presidency, we can’t have someone else that we question whether they’re mentally fit to do this.”
Trump’s suggestion that Mrs Pelosi – or Ms Haley – had turned down an offer of help while the Capitol was under siege also raised questions.
The House committee that investigated Jan 6 said it found no evidence he had made such an offer.
Trump and other Republicans have repeatedly questioned whether President Joe Biden, who is 81, has the mental acuity to serve a second term.
But the comments from Ms Haley, who turned 52 on Jan 20, were among the most direct challenges from a fellow Republican to the mental fitness of Trump, who is 77.
Critics say Trump has increasingly shown signs of ageing, and the former president himself addressed the question earlier in the week, repeating an account of how he once “aced” a test of acuity by correctly identifying animals such as a giraffe, a tiger and a whale.
But the issue appears to have done him little harm.
Far more voters, when polled, have expressed concern about Mr Biden’s age and fitness, and Trump remains the overwhelming favourite among Republicans. AFP
