Donald Trump is lobbing racially charged attacks at Republican rival Nikki Haley
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Former president Donald Trump is lobbing racially charged attacks at Republican rival Nikki Haley , a daughter of Indian immigrants who served as his U.N. ambassador, days before a hotly contested New Hampshire primary that could determine the trajectory of the party’s nominating contest.
In a lengthy post on his social media platform Friday, Trump gave his GOP rival a nickname that appeared to be yet another racist dog whistle.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump repeatedly referred to Haley as “Nimbra,” an apparent intentional misspelling of her birth name. Haley, whose parents moved to the United States in the 1960s, was born Nimarata Nikki Randhawa.
Reminiscent of his spurious claims about former president Barack Obama’s citizenship, Trump also last week spread a false “birther” claim about Haley when he shared a post on Truth Social from the Gateway Pundit, a far-right website that propagates baseless accusations .
The post falsely suggested Haley was ineligible to be president or vice president because her parents were not U.S. citizens when she was born. This is not true. The Constitution states that a natural-born citizen can be president, and Haley automatically became a U.S. citizen when she was born in South Carolina in 1972.
Trump’s use of Haley’s birth name comes as the topic of racism has emerged as a flash point among Republicans on the campaign trail, with Haley recently asserting that the United States is not and never was a racist nation. She earlier stirred controversy for comments in which she initially did not identify slavery as the cause of the Civil War.
Friday wasn’t the first time Trump has mocked Haley’s name. After the Iowa caucuses on Monday, Trump embarked on a tirade against Haley, misspelling her given first name.
“Anyone listening to Nikki ‘Nimrada’ Haley’s wacked out speech last night, would think that she won the Iowa Primary,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “She didn’t, and she couldn’t even beat a very flawed Ron DeSanctimonious, who’s out of money, and out of hope. Nikki came in a distant THIRD!” (DeSanctimonious is a Trump nickname for another GOP rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis .)
Even before the campaign began, Haley repeatedly stated that she has always gone by her middle name, which is Punjabi for “little one,” and that she changed her last name to Haley after marrying her husband, Michael Haley.
Trump, whose mother migrated to the United States from Scotland , has a history of using a rival’s name or background as a tool in his efforts to make rivals sound like they are not fully American. During the 2016 presidential race, he referred to Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.), who was then a GOP presidential candidate , by his first name, Rafael. He also repeatedly mispronounced and drew out the first name of Kamala D. Harris, now the vice president, on the 2020 campaign trail.
Trump also built favor with the extreme right of the Republican Party when, in 2011, he began floating racist and baseless claims about Obama not being born in the United States, and he frequently emphasized Obama’s middle name, Hussein.
Asked Friday on the campaign trail if Trump’s attacks against her are racist, Haley said in New Hampshire that she would “let the people decide” what the former president means.
“He’s clearly insecure. If he goes and does these temper tantrums, if he’s going and spending millions of dollars on TV, he’s insecure, he knows that something’s wrong,” Haley said. “I don’t sit there and worry about whether it’s personal or what he means by it.”
When asked about Trump repeatedly referring to Haley as “Nimbra,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in an email to The Washington Post, “Can you tell me how [Trump’s Truth Social] post would even be construed as racist?”
When provided with a list of examples of how Trump has tried to “otherize” his foes by emphasizing their race or background, Cheung added, “Sounds like those who take offense are engaging in faux outrage racism. They should get a life and live in the real world.”
Civil rights leaders denounced Trump’s remarks as a racist appeal to White people, who make up more than 92 percent of the population in New Hampshire, according to the latest census figures .
Elder James Johnson, head of the Racial Justice Network in South Carolina, said Friday that Trump’s remarks are his way of saying “she is not one of us, that she is a Brown person, that she is not a White person.”
Another civil rights activist said the racism behind Trump’s behavior is obvious.
“Why is he actually even using this name? What purpose does it serve?” asked Anthony Poore, president and CEO of the New Hampshire Center for Justice and Equity, a racial and social justice organization.
Poore said Trump’s record — dating back to when he and his father were found guilty of housing discrimination against Black people , to attacks on Obama’s place of birth — make clear what he is doing.
Trump “uses white supremacy to advance his political agenda,” Poore said, adding that the former president is “using these bogeymen — or ‘bogeynames’ — to rile up hatred.”
The attacks on Haley come as she has continued to defend the notion that the United States is not a “racist country” and has “never been a racist country.”
“Are we perfect? No,” Haley said on Fox News on Tuesday. “But our goal is to always make sure we try and be more perfect every day that we can.”
Haley was responding to a question about a viral moment from MSNBC host Joy Reid, who on Monday said the former governor is “still a Brown lady that’s got to try to win in a party that is deeply anti-immigrant. … I don’t see how she becomes the nominee of that party.”
Haley said she and Reid must live in “different” Americas. Haley’s father, Ajit Singh Randhawa, is a professor of biology who got his PhD at the University of British Columbia and later moved to Bamberg, S.C., a segregated town where Haley was born, to teach at nearby Voorhees College — a historically Black university.
Haley told Fox News that although she faced racism as a “Brown girl that grew up in a small rural town in South Carolina,” she became “the first female minority governor in history, who became a U.N. ambassador and who is now running for president.”
“If that’s not the American Dream, I don’t know what is,” Haley continued. “You can sit there and give me all the reasons why you think I can’t do this. I will continue to defy everybody on why we can do this, and we will get it done.”
During a CNN town hall Thursday night, Haley defended her characterization of the country after host Jake Tapper pressed her on America’s history, noting that the country had been founded on “many racist precepts,” including slavery.
“We had plenty of racism that we had to deal with,” Haley responded, referring to her childhood in a small rural town. “But my parents never said we lived in a racist country. And I’m so thankful they didn’t. Because for every Brown and Black child out there, if you tell them they live or were born in a racist country, you’re immediately telling them they don’t have a chance.”
She acknowledged that America had its “stains” but said that “national self-loathing” was “killing” the United States.
“I want every Brown and Black child to see that and say, ‘No, I don’t live in a country that was formed on racism. I live in a country where they wanted all people to be equal, and to make sure that they had life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,’” Haley told CNN.
Trump’s emphasis on Haley’s birth name and his questioning of her eligibility to run for president have mostly been isolated to social media.
At his campaign rallies, Trump has used the nickname “Birdbrain” to refer to Haley but hasn’t made changes to her actual name or suggested she isn’t eligible to be president. He has ramped up his attacks on Haley in recent weeks, ahead of the New Hampshire primary, where she is polling second and has the endorsement of Gov. Chris Sununu (R).
Marianne LeVine, Dylan Wells, Mariana Alfaro and Aaron Blake contributed to this report.
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Although I expect the rote denials to come in hot and heavy, this is very clear cut. Trump wants his followers to reject Haley because she is Indian-American.
We can KNOW this because Trump uses her south asian birthname (actually a deliberate mispronunciation of her birth name) as a "nickname" for her. What kind of psycho would do that unless it is to disparage her ethnic heritage ?
Debate it if you like, but it's really not debatable.
No debate here.
Of course, that's what racists do when they have nothing else to campaign on.
How anybody can think that this juvenile playground bully should be president is insane.
I am looking at recent images of Trump and seeing this aging, wrinkling (I am starting to a "tiny" bit too so I am not against the "steps" to aging), old bastard going around dividing the world and the country, when all the nation really needs and deserves is a humble servant of the people willing to make life better not just for his collaborators and cult, but for us all.
Trump supporters like to negatively 'brag' about how Biden divides the country. . . but, they 'bless' the Trump 'treatment' which is 100% MAGA and no compromise.
“Trump wants his followers to reject Haley because she is Indian-American.”
As the latest self-perceived threat to his self-aggrandizing agenda. Pandering, preposterous, and yet utterly predictable.
Pathetic that his selfishness still…still…and up until his inevitable symbolic self immolation…continues to resonate with some.
The cheese appears to be slipping further off the cracker as well.
Nancy, Nikki, Jean, he hates them all equally...
He attacks Haley's ethnicity daily with his lawyer Habba, the daughter of Iraqi immigrants, beside him
smiling and he hired Alina Saad Habba because she was the smartest lawyer he could find?
Nah he wants his followers to reject her because he sees her as a threat to his campaign and agenda, just like all the other opponents he calls names and belittles, Republican or Democrat. What he wants is to gain additional followers by playing on the idea that she isn't "one of them". So it's worse than him being a racist, he seeks to gin up the racism, hatred or distrust of others in order to win or get what he wants. It's a sickness many of us recognized early on in the 2016 primary. What we should learn, IMHO, by observing his behavior is that HE isn't "one of us"!
I really don't understand why Haley is flopping around with this issue. There can be "polite" discussion and use of euphemisms to help ease the pain of the discussion in public (I do it all the time in mixed company of strangers and friends), but of course "the thing" was and is what it was and is. Slavery - with some slave presidents in-charge of the government who could not or would not change the system.
Donald Trump clearly lacks home-training. Apparently, he is untrainable. He should retire to Mara Lago, settle his cases, and lick his 'wounds' from his multiple encounters with the System! This is the problem with a lack of what has been labeled, "PC" (political correctness). . . it allows for normalization of a bastard like Trump to run around savaging people's reputations and names. If Nikki Haley wants to be known by her "pet name"—what's it to a member of the "Drumpf" line?
Dementia Don has completely lost it. He's mentally ill.
Dementia Don has completely lost it. He's mentally ill.
twitter
People are starting to wonder if he's fit for the job
Starting?!
Yet, the right keeps complaining how the left is dividing us, a number of current articles and comments posted on NT show this to be correct and yet here we have a racist putz like Trump doing all the dividing with this racist BS.
Wake up righties.
The left keeps complaining how the right is dividing us.
They are both correct.
Oh the irony that is the republican party. Nikki Haley can not run as an Pacific Asian female, but Donald Trump gets to shout out from his 'rooftop' that it should matter. . .and cost her. . . . Haley is of Indian-descent and her familial name bears witness of it! Once again, Trump gets away with dirty, bastard conduct and the new GOP base just sat silently by and let it happen.
Obviously she's an American. ("Indian-American?")
I know I'm being a little picky here, but as a group people from India, Pakistan, (and now Bengladesh?) & Sri Lanka are more accurately referred to as "South-Asian", not Pacific types.
India is bordered on the West by the Arabian Sea and on the East by the Indian Ocean-- that is not usually referred to as the Pacific Ocean.
A person from any of these four countries (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka*, and probably Bengladesh**) often refer to themselves as being a "Desi" .
Haley was born into the Sikh religion which is quite similar to Hinduism. IIRC she married an American Methodist man and interestingly practices that religion but also follows some Sikh traditions (?).
____________________________________
*Sri Lanka was formerly called "Ceylon"
**Bengladesh was formerly called "East Pakistan"
A person from any of these four countries often refer to themselves as being a "Desi" .Haley was born into the Sikh religion which is quite similar to Hinduism. IIRC she married an American Methodist and interestingly practices that religion but also some Sikh traditions (?).
The Sikhs might also refer to themselves as "Punjabis" because Punjab is where them come from. (Northern India and parts of Pakistan).
Incidentally because her parents are Indian, people often incorrectly refer to her as "Non-White". While the theory of three distinct races has been discredited, if one wanted to classify her race, I would say she's "White".
So that's just some irrelevant but possibly interesting information which probably doesn't interest most people here LOL.
P.S: More trivia: Without googling-- What continent are each of these countries in? Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia?
Next thing you know he’ll tell black People they ain’t really black if they don’t vote for him.
Still can't call out creepy Donald for calling out an Indian-American GOPer for being. . . American. Trump has full ownership of MAGAs.
The important difference between Biden and Trump in this regard is when Biden slips up and says words and phrases that are ignorant, disrespectful, and prejudicial—he self-corrects. It is not done again. When Trump. . . there are no slip-ups. . .says ignorant, disrespectful, and prejudicial words and phrases. . .he double-downs and triple-downs on it—and MAGA puts its seal of approval on it.
To which end, I don't see you calling out Trump for his arrogance at bothering with mocking Haley's name.
Trump clearly made a racist dogwhistle but they have all drank the kool-aid.
It's interesting that this idiom got it partially wrong. Jim Jones didn't buy kool aid but the cheaper Flavor Aid.
that’s grape to hear, but low hanging fruit, flies inn the thinly veiled not faced racist suggestions that are just the norm anymore, after the ole Novocain Narcissist in need of a Doc Kevorkian anesthesiologist, again straight up slaps everyone not male in White, into a Trumped up fight, as we all should know by now, T is just a big ole bloviating jiggly bowl right out the bow el of Bovine excremeant for the insecure white right
and again
rightly or not, working to Trumps advantage, and collectively to cause damage, for all of US
Does that mean you can change your race if you change your vote?
Most people believe you can't change your race (well, with perhaps a very few exceptions such as Michael Jackson...
)
If you can change your sex by simply by wishing it, I don't see why you can't change your race.
You should be free to self-identify your race, gender, ethnocentricity, and be free to change it as you mature.
I am identifying myself as a 21 year old male.
Maybe he will say she sounds like she should be working in a 7-11
You know...because Trump is the only racist running for president s/
DeSantis dropped out?
Don't know where you get that DeSantis is racist, but, hey...why not just make up shit as you go.
We all carry some Bias, and ole average Joe be biding his dumb sum times on a party boat working the Gafs, while Trumpy exclaims like a really stupid unfunny comic, that spouts a never ending hate speech intent on dividing the insecure, by playing on their insecurities, with those different than they, that he is the path to righteousness . Cause who else would you want your children to emulate, besides a constant producer of all kinds of Hate! say like say one found guilty of a play RAPE date, or a playboy friend of Epstein the one who liked em young and lean?
or maybe one that has to just grab em buy that PUSSY
and apparently, not all of them just let em, unless he’s got $5-13 MILLION, or a $130,000.00 per pop pop
asx he cheats on his wives all white, but it’s okay , he’s white and (not at all) Right ?
Racially charges into the fight, with a weaponry not correct or right, cause guess what white posters, Trumpy ain’t wrapped too Tight, nor are those so easily swayed buy their bought asses, cause Trumpy certainly does, know how to grab and or buy, him sum asses!
Apparently not since those wives left him and divorced him.
You seemed to think it was ok that Billy boy got a BJ under the desk in the oval office.
Biden is racist, and he cheated on Jill with blow up dolls. See, I can do it too.
Don't forget fascist.
That seems to be the new favorite.
[deleted]
During, he liked threesomes
Some Indians are workers in 711's-- but many of them are owners!
OK...and?
That's true.
I believe when he made his bigoted comment about Indians and 7-11,he never mentioned anything about them owning one.
"In Delaware, the largest growth of population is Indian Americans, moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking."
Maybe he will say she sounds like she should be working in a 7-11
Some Indians are workers in 711's-- but many of them are owners!
(711's especially in big cities-- IIRC in more rural areas many are owners of Motel 6's). Nationwide Indian-Americans are over-represented (often as CEOs) in Technology, business, as doctors, etc:
Here's a bit more information about this group:
Indian Americans generally are well-off. Median annual household income for Indian Americans in 2010 was $88,000, much higher than for all Asian Americans ($66,000) and all U.S. households ($49,800) — perhaps not surprising, given their high education levels.
Only 9% of adult Indian Americans live in poverty, compared with 12% of Asian Americans overall and 13% of the U.S. population.
In 2010, by our analysis, 28% of Indian American worked in science and engineering fields; according to the 2013 American Community Survey, more than two-thirds (69.3%) of Indian Americans 16 and older were in management, business, science and arts occupations.
So much for white privilege.
That raises an interesting question, well actually two:
1. Are they "White"-- if not what "race" are they?
2. What "privileges" do immigrants from a third world country have in the U.S.?
They are Caucasian.
Our government doesn’t seem to think so;
”Most Indian populations, the researchers found, are primarily mixtures of 2 ancestral groups, which they call the Ancestral North Indians (ANI) and the Ancestral South Indians (ASI). Interestingly, a higher ANI proportion is associated with traditionally higher caste groups.”
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/understanding-indian-ancestry#:~:text=Most%20Indian%20populations%2C%20the%20researchers,with%20traditionally%20higher%20caste%20groups.
Interesting that occupy democrats was one of the first groups to start calling her Nimarata.
By May 5, (2016) the post by Occupy Democrats , an advocacy group created to provide "an online counterbalance to the Republican 'Tea Party,'" had been shared 8,400 times.
If you can, tell us why Trump called her "Nimrada" over the past few days. What is the reason? And dont say it is because "Occupy Democrats" did 8 years ago.
Are you enthusiastic about having a racist asshole in charge of our country next year ?
Only 8.400 times? I'm surprised it was so few.
What do you think accounts for that?