Nikki Haley, a failed presidential candidate and former ambassador to the United Nations, tried to smear President-elect Donald Trump as “shallow” after he stated he would not offer her a position in his second administration.
The comment appears to expose Haley’s resentment of Trump, who defeated her in the 2024 Republican presidential primary race. Haley dropped out in March after Super Tuesday.
She eventually said she would vote for Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris in the months leading up to Election Day, but the endorsement did not cause Trump to bring Haley on the campaign trail as a surrogate, angering many establishment Republicans.
After Trump defeated Harris in a landslide, Trump said Harris would have no place in his second administration.
“I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump administration,” he posted on Truth Social. “I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our country.”
Haley, who claims she never wanted to work for Trump again, said Wednesday that Trump was “shallow” and that he was “playing games” she did not “need to play.”
“I know the game he was playing. I don’t need to play that game,” she said on her weekly radio show on SiriusXM. “He can be shallow at times, and I think he showed that.”
“I had no interest in being in his cabinet. He knew that,” she added. “At this point, we should pray President Trump does well, we should pray that everyone he appoints does well,” she said.
Haley served as Trump’s U.N. ambassador during his first administration. Trump nominated House Conference chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to the position on Monday. Republicans widely praised the nomination.
FLASHBACK — Nikki Haley Heckled by Trump Supporters at CPAC: “We Love Trump!”
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
