New Delhi: Indian-American presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Donald Trump is mentally unfit to be the US President after Trump blamed Haley for 2021 Capitol Hill insurrection where he was apparently referring to the then House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Haley took on her former boss as part of gaining more oomph to her campaign training her gun at the 77-year-old who is emerging as the Republican choice for White House.
The 52-year-old used the same line of attack, based on age with which Republicans target US president Joe Biden, to attack Trump.
Haley, who served as the UN ambassador under Trump, said: ‘Last night, Trump is at a rally...and he's going on and on, mentioning me multiple times as to why I didn't take security during the Capitol riots, why I didn't handle January 6 better. I wasn't even in DC on January 6. I wasn't in office then.’
Since launching campaign, Haley has never before directly attacked Trump and her surprising attack suggests the aggressive stand is part of her attempt to gain momentum in the campaign.
Haley told a public meeting in New Hampshire: ‘Do we really want to have two 80-year-olds running for president, when we've got a country in disarray and a world on fire?’
In a post on Truth Social, Trump targeted Haley's Indian heritage, misspelling her first name "Nimarata" as "Nimrada". Haley, born to Indian immigrant parents, was named Nimarata 'Nikki' Randhawa and goes by her middle name and changed her surname after marriage.
As the spate continues, Haley was quoted as The Guardian as saying ‘I know President Trump well. That's what he does when he feels threatened. I don't take these things personally.’