Nikki Haley urges Trump to ‘quit whining’ about Kamala Harris: ‘She’s not going to give an interview’

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Donald Trump’s centrist challenger in this year’s Republican primary, is urging him to “quit whining” about Vice President Kamala Harris and focus instead on “issues” — arguing “she’s not going to give an interview” in response to Trump’s past-week hectoring.

“The one thing Republicans have to stop doing: Quit whining about her. We knew it was going to be her. She’s not going to give an interview. They’re going to hold out as long as they can. That’s their right,” Haley told Bret Baier on Fox News’ “Special Report” Tuesday.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t talk about what she believes in. And we should be getting out there and doing that.”

“The campaign is not going to win talking about crowd sizes, it’s not going to win talking about what race Kamala Harris is, it’s not going to win talking about whether she’s dumb,” said Haley, who also served as South Carolina’s governor.

“You can’t win on those things. The American people are smart — treat them like they’re smart.”

Haley urged Trump, who regularly blends policy critiques with brutal mockery of his opponents — including referring to Haley as “Birdbrain” when they faced off this year — to set aside his long record of defining his opponents through name-calling.

“I take her at her word that she wants to ban fracking and kill a bunch of US jobs,” Haley said.

“The target issues are the economy; the fact that Kamala wants to raise taxes; the fact that she’s taking money from those that didn’t go to college and has given it to those that did; the fact that when Afghanistan fell; the fact that when they lifted sanctions on Iran; the fact that when they, you know, actually said that they would help Israel and then pulled back. Where was Kamala when that happened? She was sitting right next to Joe Biden in the Situation Room.”

But Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) on Wednesday shot back at those criticizing Donald Trump for low-blow attacks against Harris, telling reporters that Trump is “unfiltered” – and that’s why voters like him.

“President Trump, the reason people love him is because he’s his own man,” the GOP vice presidential candidate told reporters at a campaign stop in Michigan. “He’s unfiltered, and he lets the American people see who he is.”

Trump trounced Haley in this year’s Republican primaries — with Haley taking only Vermont. They later set aside their differences as she endorsed him and spoke at last month’s Republican convention.

“Here’s the answer to the people who say that Donald Trump should do something different,” Vance said. “They had an opportunity to make Donald Trump do something different by challenging him over three separate primaries, every single one of which he won.”

Haley also urged Trump and Vance to give up on their bid to goad Harris into giving a press conference or sit-down interview as Republicans hope that she will botch unscripted moments and end her prolonged “honeymoon” phase of positive press. 

“She’s not going to give an interview. They’re going to hold out as long as they can. That’s their right,” Haley said. “That doesn’t mean we can’t talk about what she believes in. And we should be getting out there and doing that.”

Instead, Haley called on the Trump campaign to focus more on tying Harris to Biden, noting that “this administration is Kamala Harris’ administration.” 

“Everything that has happened is hers, so define her in that way,” Haley argued. “Talk about those issues.”

Vance attempted to do so in a speech in Michigan on Wednesday, where he criticized some of Harris’ policies, linked her to President Biden’s tenure and highlighted their joint failure with the economy and at the southern border.

“Kamala Harris raised the price of American energy and Michigan suffered,” Vance said. “Good American jobs suffered.”

The GOP vice presidential nominee also insisted to reporters that he and Trump are indeed attacking Harris on policy matters.

“If you listen to what Donald J. Trump says, if you look at what I say, we are prosecuting the case against Kamala Harris on policy,” Vance said. “We’re reminding people that Donald Trump delivered peace and prosperity, and Kamala Harris has delivered war all over the world and unaffordable groceries and housing here at home.”

Still, he continued personal attacks on Harris, as well, saying “everything about her campaign is fake” including her laugh and her dancing.