Former Republican South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley criticized former President Donald Trump’s response to the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot in a Friday interview with Politico.
Haley emerged as a reliable defender of Trump’s foreign policy positions during her time as Ambassador to the United Nations. Haley resigned as U.N. ambassador in 2018. (RELATED: ‘Democrats Always Blame America First’: Nikki Haley Invokes Reagan Ambassador At RNC)
“I hear the president get up there and go off on Pence. I literally was so triggered, I had to turn it off,” Haley said of Trump’s speech at the Ellipse on Jan. 6.
Trump called out Pence during the speech just before rioters overran the Capitol and temporarily halted the Electoral College certification. “Mike Pence is going to have to come through for us, and if he doesn’t, that will be a, a sad day for our country because you’re sworn to uphold our Constitution,” Trump said, according to a transcript provided by the Associated Press.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 06: Pro-Trump protesters gather in front of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. A pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, breaking windows and clashing with police officers. Trump supporters gathered in the nation’s capital today to protest the ratification of President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory over President Trump in the 2020 election. (Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images)
“I am so disappointed in the fact that [despite] the loyalty and friendship he had with Mike Pence, that he would do that to him. Like, I’m disgusted by it,” Haley continued. During the riot, Trump tweeted that Pence “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done.”
Haley expressed regret that so many Republicans entertained Trump’s stolen election arguments. “We shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him,” she said.
Many believe Haley will be running for president in 2024, although she has not made a formal announcement. Haley most recently campaigned for Kelly Loeffler in the Georgia Senate run-off, although Loeffler lost to Raphael Warnock.