Haley Claims to be Undermining Trump’s Influence, Attracting More Voters to GOP

Nikki Haley has confirmed that she is staying in the race for the White House, claiming in a recent interview that she is “weakening” front-runner Donald Trump and attracting more people to the GOP.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal posted on Friday, Haley showed no sign of backing down despite the former president’s strong lead and pressure from her own party to withdraw. She continued to criticize Trump and appeal to swing voters.

“I’m weakening Trump because of who Trump is,” she told the outlet. “Telling the truth in a primary is very important, so that’s what I’m doing.”

“I’m going to win,” she added, and “I’m strengthening the party because I bring more people into the Republican Party, instead of pushing people away like Trump.”

Her campaign is being supported by anti-Trump donors, and according to the Journal, criticizing Trump is unlikely to harm her future prospects in corporate America.

Despite trailing behind Trump for her home state’s primary, she plans to continue her campaign for Super Tuesday and rejects calls to drop out, pointing to polls indicating that 7 in 10 Americans want an alternative option to Trump or President Joe Biden.

Haley believes Trump will not be able to secure enough independent voters and suburban women for a victory in November.

“By nature, I think women look for authenticity,” she told the Journal. “They look for someone who is genuine, and they look for someone who is honest, and they don’t feel like he represents someone they want their kids to look at.”

“I think parents in general are not comfortable with his behavior.”

According to the Journal, Haley’s appeal to suburban and independent voters is why she performs better than Trump in hypothetical matchups against Biden. A Journal poll had her beating Biden by 17 percentage points.

If she loses her White House bid, she has no plans to run as an independent.

“I’m a Republican,” she said. “A Republican primary is where Republicans run.”