Nikki Haley criticizes Trump for rhetoric echoing Russian talking points on war in Ukraine
This combination photo shows Nikki Haley, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, left, speaking in Taipei, Taiwan, Aug. 21, 2024, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaking at a campaign rally, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo)
(WCIV) — Nikki Haley, the one-time Republican presidential candidate and former South Carolina governor, offered sharp criticism of the Trump administration’s approach to negotiating a peace deal in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Haley, who ran for the Republican nomination in 2024 before dropping out and endorsing Donald Trump, admonished her once-political rival for repeating what she characterized as capitulating to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“These are classic Russian talking points,” Haley said in a post on social media in response to Trump’s recent remarks falsely claiming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a dictator. “Exactly what Putin wants.”
Haley, who once worked in the Trump administration during his first term in the White House, appeared to double down Monday when she claimed America needed to operate with clarity regarding what side it was on in the conflict.
“America has always been a pillar of freedom and democracy,” Haley said. “We have to have the moral clarity to know the difference between good and evil and right and wrong. We can’t blur those lines. We must choose a side, and it should never be the side of dictators.”
America has always been a pillar of freedom and democracy. We have to have the moral clarity to know the difference between good and evil and right and wrong. We can’t blur those lines. We must choose a side, and it should never be the side of dictators.
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 24, 2025
Haley’s remarks follow French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the White House to discuss Trump’s recent negotiations with Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
During the meeting, Trump expressed hope that the war, provoked by Russia, was nearing its end, according to reporting from The Associated Press. France’s leader, however, cautioned that any potential agreement with Moscow mustn’t amount to surrender for Ukraine.
In broad comments on the state of the conflict, Trump said he believed Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine. Trump also said he hoped that the war could end within weeks and that Zelenskyy would soon come to the U.S. to sign a deal giving America access to Ukraine’s critical minerals, which are used in key technology.
The meeting between Macron and Trump came on the third anniversary of the war.
Trump is set to hold a meeting Thursday with another key European leader, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
