Haley, one of two remaining Republican presidential contenders, is up against an ever-popular Donald Trump, who feels irritated that his former UN ambassador isn’t handing him the nomination by withdrawing.
Despite her determination, the Republican nominee faces a difficult struggle. Republicans have largely endorsed Trump for the February 24 primary in South Carolina, Haley’s home state.
She has been leaning toward open primary states, where non-Republicans can vote. But in New Hampshire, an open primary state, Haley fell by more than 10% to Trump.
Landon Parvin, a former Ronald Reagan speechwriter, told The Wall Street Journal that Haley can take on “the Great Pumpkin far away in Mar-a-Lago” — as long as she has more personality than Ron Desantis.
One piece of advice Parvin provided Haley was to defend Trump’s defeated opponents, including Meatball Ron and Chris “Bum” Christie.
“You are the only one now carrying the banner. Speak up for all of the Republicans who have been mocked, diminished, and intimidated by Trump. “He can’t hurt you anymore,” Parvin informed the Journal.
Parvin also told Haley to react to Trump’s sarcasm – a difficult feat given his terminal online presence — with her own, but she should remember there is an art to it.
“Do it with humor, or you’ll look like you want to stand on his ventilator tube,” Parvin advised the Journal.
He suggested emphasizing how Trump’s legal troubles make him unqualified for the presidency by employing smart comments about his criminal prosecution for payments to adult star Stormy Daniels.
(The technique did not work for DeSantis, but Haley might use it to court independents and moderate Republicans concerned about Trump’s numerous indictments.)
Parvin also encouraged Haley to resist “stereotypes” thrown at her by Trump, who has spent a lot of time, predictably, coining racist nicknames for the Indian-American contender.
Although it is unknown whether Haley has already seen Parvin’s statements, the Republican candidate has increased her attacks on Trump, citing his age, doubting his memory, and pointing to his legal issues.
On Friday afternoon, when it was announced that Trump would have to pay $83 million in damages to E. Jean Carroll, who sued the former president for slander, Haley wrote on X that his legal troubles were a distraction from other policy matters on Republican minds.
“America can do better than Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” she said in a statement.
Rather than agreeing, users rated her posts.