Nikki Haley Slams Trump's New York Rally, Says 'Masculinity Stuff' Making Women Uncomfortable

Last Updated:October 30, 2024, 16:39 IST

Haley criticised the Trump campaign for being "overly masculine" after the ex-president's New York sparked massive backlash for racist language.

Former Trump rival Nikki Haley said the rhetoric at his New York may make women uncomfortable. (AP)

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley on Tuesday criticised the Trump campaign for being “overly masculine with this bromance” thing” after the former US President’s recent rally in New York’s Madison Square Garden sparked massive backlash for racist and vulgar language mostly directed towards Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump has faced renewed outrage after one of the warm-up speakers, comedian and podcast host Tony Hinchcliffe called US territory Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage” during the mega rally on Sunday. The comments sparked a furore among both Democrats and Republicans, with US President Joe Biden denouncing Trump supporters as “garbage”.

Other speakers at the event also made incendiary comments. Trump’s childhood friend David Rem referred to Harris as “the Antichrist” and “the devil.” Businessman Grant Cardone told the crowd that Harris ”and her pimp handlers will destroy our country.”

Speaking at Fox News, Indian-American leader Haley criticised the decision to allow the comic to perform at the event in the first place, which she deemed “harmful” to the campaign. “This is not a time to have anyone criticize Puerto Rico or Latinos. This is not a time for them to get overly masculine with the bromance thing that they’ve got going on,” Haley said.

‘This Is Not The Way To Win Women’

Haley also said the “bromance and masculinity stuff borders on edgy” to the point that it is likely to make women voters uncomfortable. “53 per cent of the electorate are women. Women will vote. They care about how they’re being talked to, and they care about the issues. They need to remember that this is a time of discipline, and this is a time of addition,” she added.

“That is not the way to win women. That is not the way to win people who are concerned about Trump’s style. This is a time to talk about the economy. This is the time to talk about immigration. This is the time to talk about national security,” Haley further said. The former GOP rival to Trump also referenced a video published by Elon Musk’s super PAC calling Harris the “c-word” before then saying she was “communist.”

Haley’s remarks come less than a week before the ultimate showdown between Harris and Trump for the White House on November 5. More than 50 million people have already cast their votes in one of America’s most divisive and violent elections. Polls have shown a large gender gap, with women moving towards Harris and men towards Trump.

Trump Distances Himself From Controversial Remarks

Meanwhile, the former President spent the last two days trying to tamp down a firestorm over his weekend rally in New York, saying the comedian who made the comments about Puerto Rico “probably… shouldn’t have been there.” However, he earlier described the event as a “love fest”.

On the other hand, Biden on Tuesday came under fire for responding to the comments by appearing to call Trump’s supporters “garbage,” although he later said he was referring to the Republican’s rhetoric. Trump called the comments “terrible,” and his running mate JD Vance said they were “disgusting.”

Some Democrats, calling Trump a fascist, have compared his Sunday event to a pro-Nazi rally at the Garden in February 1939. Several speakers on Sunday ripped Hillary Clinton, the Democrat defeated by Trump eight years ago, for saying recently that Trump would be “reenacting” the 1939 event. One of them, radio host Sid Rosenberg, directed a profanity at Clinton.

However, Haley made it clear to his campaign that she stood ready to campaign for him in battleground states, even though she has not been asked to do so. “His style and his wording isn’t always the best. But his policies, I am choosing policy over personality,” she said.

(with agency inputs)

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