Donald Trump Thinks Nikki Haley Should 'Switch Parties'

Former President Donald Trump on Friday said that Nikki Haley—his main rival for the Republican Party presidential nomination—should "switch" to the Democratic Party.

"You know, [she's] supported by the Democrats, supported and funded by the Democrats," Trump said during a rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

"Republicans aren't supporting her, they don't like her, and they don't like her policy. She's essentially a Democrat," the former president added. "I think she should probably switch parties."

The Context

Trump's comments come a day before voters are set to cast their ballots in South Carolina's GOP primary. Haley, the state's former governor and ex-U.N. ambassador under Trump's administration, trails the former president by double digits in preliminary polling.

Haley is the last main challenger to Trump's reelection bid, and her campaign has won the support from several major GOP donors in recent months, as some Republicans push for their party to move past the former president's agenda.She has also attracted thousands of donors who supported President Joe Biden's campaign in the 2020 election, according to a report by Politico, which analyzed Haley's most recent fundraising report.

What We Know

Trump repeatedly threw jabs at Haley during his speech Friday, including bashing the former governor for previously claiming that she would "never run against" him.

"Nikki Haley is relying on Democrats and liberals ... Crazy. It's called the crazy world of politics," Trump told rally-goers.

Haley reassured supporters on Tuesday that she is staying in the race against Trump, despite having not won a primary election against him.

"When the country's future is on the line, you don't drop out. You keep fighting. In fact, you fight harder than ever. That's why I refuse to quit," she said at a speech in South Carolina.

When reached for comment, Haley spokesperson AnnMarie Graham-Barnes told Newsweek that the former president is "lying through his teeth but South Carolinians know that Nikki Haley cut their taxes, passed one of the toughest illegal immigration bills in the country, implemented voter ID, and created tens of thousands of jobs in every county in the state."

"While she was delivering on conservative promises, Trump was donating to Kamala Harris," Graham-Barnes added.

Trump's own political loyalty flipped between the two parties prior to launching his first presidential campaign in 2016. The former president was a registered Democrat for several years in the early 2000s, and previously said that he believed the economy is typically better off under a Democratic administration.

"In many cases, I probably identify more as Democrat," Trump told CNN's Wolf Blitzer during an interview in 2004. "It just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans."

The Views

South Carolina's GOP primary is largely viewed as Haley's last chance to pull off a win ahead of "Super Tuesday" voting on March 5. Danielle Vinson, professor of politics and international affairs at Furman University, previously told Newsweek that while Haley may be able to stay in the race if she loses Saturday's primary, she will definitely need to garner more support than in the past primary votes.

"If she falls below 40 percent, I don't really see a rationale for continuing other than waiting around and hoping Trump's legal problems will overtake him—which seems unlikely at best," Vinson said.

Haley earned about 19 percent of the vote in the first primary ballots cast in Iowa last month. In New Hampshire a few weeks later, where Governor Chris Sununu endorsed her, Haley gathered 43.3 percent of support. Trump won both races by at least 10 percentage points to the next closest candidate.

The former governor's most embarrassing primary results may have been in Nevada, where Haley placed second behind the option of "None of These Candidates." Trump did not appear on the Nevada ballot.

What's Next?

Haley made a couple of campaign stops in her home state on Friday, arguing that Trump's past election losses pose an issue for the future of the Republican Party.

"Don't complain about what happens in a general election if you don't vote in this primary. It matters," Haley told supporters in Moncks Corner, South Carolina.

"And then you're all here because you want to see a change in America, but what I want to remind you is, we can want all [those] things ... but if we can't win a general election, we get nothing," she added.

Trump told supporters at his rally in Rock Hill to "get up" and "get out" on Saturday.

"Get out and vote tomorrow," the former president said. "We're going to win this state and then we're going to tell crooked Joe Biden, 'you're fired.'"

Update 02/23/24, 6:37 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Haley's campaign.