In a rambling campaign speech, Donald Trump appeared to confuse former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley.
Trump was discussing the audience size at his Concord, New Hampshire, rally on Friday when he said that the press does not cover Haley’s smaller crowds.
He then moved on to the Capitol brawl, inexplicably blaming Haley for security lapses.
“By the way, they never reported the crowd on January 6.” You know Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, you know, they — did you know they destroyed all of the information, all of the proof, everything? They deleted and destroyed everything. “All of it is because of a variety of factors,” Trump stated.
“Like Nikki Haley is in charge of security. We gave her 10,000 people, soldiers, National Guards, whatever she wanted. They turned it down. They don’t want to discuss that. “These are extremely dishonest people.”
As he made the mistake, the audience appeared to fall silent.
President Joe Biden’s campaign lost no time criticizing Trump on X for the confusion.
“A deeply confused Trump repeatedly mixes Nancy Pelosi and Nikki Haley: On January 6, Nikki Haley was in control. They don’t want to discuss that.”
Trump was referring to his long-debunked allegation that he asked 10,000 National Guard men to defend the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
He mistakenly stated that Pelosi, the House Speaker at the time, declined the offer, which he did not back up with facts.
By 2021, Haley had resigned as ambassador to the United Nations and had no active political participation in the Capitol riot.
Trump’s new remarks come amid growing concern about his cognitive ability.
On the campaign trail, he frequently confused President Joe Biden with Barack Obama.
He most recently made the mistake while speaking with Fox News on Thursday night, when he referred to Obama as if he were still in office.
In a November post on Truth Social, Trump justified his gaffes, claiming he would “sarcastically insert the name Obama for Biden as an indication that others may actually be having a very big influence in running our Country.”
In the same post, he claimed to have “ACED” a cognitive exam.
Trump has increased his criticism of Haley as the primary battle heats up.
Meanwhile, Haley has focused on Trump’s age, stating last week that “the majority of Americans think that having two 80-year-olds running for president is not what they want.”