Nikki Haley accused Donald Trump of “lacking moral clarity” after the former president said he would not protect NATO countries from hypothetical Russian attacks if they fail to spend enough on their defense pact.
Trump said Saturday that he warned NATO allies during his first term that he “would encourage” Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to a member country that failed to reach the NATO target of spending at least 2 percent of their budget on the military.
Trump received swift criticism from his 2024 opponent and other political figures.
“That should send a chill up everyone’s spine,” Haley told Politico Playbook of Trump’s comments.
She called the comments “wrong” and said, “It’s the kind of comment that makes Joe Biden look clear-headed.”
“This is what makes Joe Biden look sane,” she added.
Haley went on to criticize Trump over his recent comments questioning why her husband, who is currently deployed to the Horn of Africa as a major in the South Carolina Army National Guard, has not appeared on the campaign trail with his wife.
“Military families go through a lot,” she said. “And the fact that Donald Trump’s never even got near a military uniform, he’s never had that experience, never known what it’s like, goes to show why he continues to call them suckers and losers.”
“Why is there silence from the Republican Party?” she asked. “Like, where is everybody? … Where are the Republicans in defense of our men and women in uniform that sacrifice for us and protect our country?”
President Biden also issued a statement criticizing Trump’s NATO comments.
“Donald Trump’s admission that he intends to give Putin a green light for more war and violence, to continue his brutal assault against a free Ukraine, and to expand his aggression to the people of Poland and the Baltic states, [is] appalling and dangerous,” Biden said.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the comment put U.S. and European troops at greater risk and “undermines all of our security.”