This Is Why Republicans Are Underserved by This Primary

By Noah Rothman 

Tuesday, January 16, 2024 

 

With her focus now turned to New Hampshire, Nikki Haley joined CNN host Dana Bash for an interview on Tuesday alongside Granite State governor Chris Sununu. There, she was gently goaded into addressing the fact that she’s supposedly running for president against Donald Trump. But as has become habit, Haley graciously declined to acknowledge that reality: 

 

“You’re the only woman in this race,” Bash observed. “How do you feel about your party’s front-runner being held liable for sexual abuse?” A good question — one Haley declined to answer in a way that approximates a genuine, human response. 

 

“First of all, I haven’t paid attention to his cases, and I’m not a lawyer. All I know is he’s innocent until proven guilty,” she replied. “Some of the cases have been political. This one I haven’t looked at, but if he’s found guilty, then he needs to pay the price.” 

 

The notion that Haley is unfamiliar with one of her opponents’ singular political liabilities strains credulity. But let’s assume she doesn’t know the first thing about the case. That would explain why she’s using language reserved for criminal prosecutions rather than that native to civil courts, which is where Trump was found liable for sexual assault and defamation by a federal jury. But even if we grant this, does Haley believe that is how average voters will react when confronted with the fact that Trump’s peers have found him responsible for sexual assault? 

 

If Haley declines to prosecute the case against Trump, does anyone believe that Democrats will do the same? Republicans might not like the baggage with which Trump has festooned himself, but pretending that the baggage doesn’t exist or that every allegation against him is illegitimate is to treat Republican voters like children. Trump’s many political liabilities will get a hearing. If Republicans don’t litigate those charges during the primary, they will be fully aired in the general election — at which point Trump will not have been inoculated against all that “old news.” 

 

Perhaps the former South Carolina governor believes, or has been coached into believing, that being honest with Republican voters is a high-risk, low-reward proposition. Maybe her team has internalized the idea that the GOP only ever lashes out at the people who are vocal about the observable contours of our shared reality. But assuming that the Republican primary electorate is too fragile to contend with the facts of Trump’s candidacy is an insult. Why should those voters reward this indignity with their votes? 

 

If Donald Trump is destined once again to be the Republican presidential nominee, the GOP deserves to know what it’s getting into. And if Haley is actually running for president, she would be better served in the long run by making an honest pitch to Republican voters. Her reluctance to level with Republicans about what they’re getting themselves into is patronizing. Her pathway to the nomination was already extremely narrow, but one thing is for sure: Nikki Haley will not condescend her way into Republican hearts.