Donald Trump has released a football-themed ad attacking Nikki Haley's denials of wanting to change Social Security rules.
The ad, which was released online the same day as the Super Bowl game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs, shows a referee overturning Haley's claim that she "never said" that she wants to raise the age of Social Security following a "red-flag" review of other previous remarks.
The ad shows the referee reviewing previous interviews and public statements from Haley suggesting that 65 is "way too low" to start receiving social benefits and "we need to increase that."
Another clip shows Haley, Trump's last remaining serious challenger in the 2024 GOP primary, suggesting that the retirement age in the U.S. also needs to change to reflect the increase in life expectancy.
The ref then returns to the field and declares: "Nikki Haley clearly said she plans to change the rules and raise the age of Social Security. This results in cutting benefits for 80 percent of Americans."
The commentator for the game can then be heard saying how Haley's denial was a "rookie mistake."
This is not the first time that Trump has attacked Haley for her suggestions that the retirement age for future generations should be increased.
A similar ad was released by the former president's campaign team in January which claimed: "Americans were promised a secure retirement. Nikki Haley's plan ends that."
The ad also references Haley's comments which she made during an interview with Bloomberg News last August.
"Social Security is going to go bankrupt in 10 years. Medicare is going to go bankrupt in eight," Haley said.
"So the way we deal with it is we don't touch anyone's retirement or anyone who's been promised in, but we go to people like my kids in their 20s when they're coming into the system and we say the rules have changed. We change retirement age to reflect life expectancy."
The January ad was released ahead of the New Hampshire GOP primary, in which Trump beat Haley by 11 points, despite suggestions Haley would put up more of a serious challenge in the race. Trump's victory in New Hampshire further cemented his position as the likely Republican nominee for the 2024 election.
Trump has repeatedly said on the 2024 campaign trail that he would not touch Social Security or Medicare, even as some Republicans have suggested changes are needed so the programs can continue to be funded.
In a previous statement following the release of January's ad, Haley's communications director Nachama Soloveichik said: "All of Donald Trump's attack ads prove that he is terrified of Nikki Haley's rise.
"This is a two-person race between Nikki's conservative vision for a strong and proud America and Trump's continued obsession with the chaos and drama of the past."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
