Her criticism marked a departure from Republicans’ initial reaction to Trump’s indictment.
Nikki Haley on Monday called Donald Trump “reckless.” Tim Scott described the federal charges brought against him as “serious allegations.”
It was far from an outright condemnation. But their comments marked a significant departure from the two presidential contenders’ initial reaction to Trump’s indictment. Just days after Republicans rushed to Trump’s defense, their remarks served as a sign the tide could be turning in the Republican presidential primary field’s willingness to go on offense against the former president.
“Two things can be true at the same time,” Haley said in a Fox News interview Monday afternoon. She said the Department of Justice and FBI “have lost all credibility with the American people.” Then she turned her fire to Trump.
“If this indictment is true, if what it says is actually the case, President Trump was incredibly reckless with our national security,” Haley said, adding that her husband serves in the military. “This puts all of our military men and women in danger, if you’re going to talk about what our military is capable of or how we would go about invading or doing something with one of our enemies.”
She added, “If that’s the case, it’s reckless, it’s frustrating and it causes problems. You know, we’re looking now, this is the second indictment. We’re looking at a third indictment coming in with Georgia.”
Earlier in the day Monday, Scott, at a campaign event in Spartanburg, S.C., maintained that there was a “double standard” for Republicans and Democrats in the justice system, as he suggested last week. But like Haley, he too went a step further.
“This case is a serious case with serious allegations, but in America you are still innocent until proven guilty,” Scott said.
Haley, who was Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations after serving as South Carolina governor, and Scott, the state’s junior senator who has offered both public praise and criticism of Trump in recent years, each initially condemned the federal indictments against Trump, as did most of the rest of the Republican presidential field, including former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy.
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Haley, Scott take aim at Trump as cracks emerge in GOP’s rush to his defense https://t.co/qLrnP1H1wx
— POLITICO (@politico) June 12, 2023
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