GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley claimed Thursday that entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is not a “serious candidate” and dismissed attacks about big-donor funding to her campaign.
In an interview the morning after the fourth GOP primary debate, Haley said going forward, Ramaswamy was not “worth” her time.
“Last night, it was — it was very clear. We’re surging in the polls. Every one of those guys sees it, and they showed it,” Haley said in an interview with “Fox & Friends.” “But we’re picking and choosing our battles.”
“It’s not worth us dealing with Vivek. He keeps saying I’m a military contractor. I’ve never been a military contractor. He keeps saying all these things that I’ve never done,” she added. “But I’m not going to sit there and give him one more second. He’s proven he’s not a serious candidate. So, I’m not going to deal with him anymore.”
Asked to respond to concerns about big donors and corporations giving to her campaign, Haley insisted that donors have no influence over her policy positions and that they get nothing in return for their support of her campaign.
“When they come to me, they ask me what my views are. I don’t ever ask them what their views are. They ask me what my views are,” she said. “They know I’m tough on China. They saw the work that I did as governor. They know what I did at the U.N.”
“No one sits there and asks for anything. Make no mistake. These fellows, they take every bit of that support if it was going to them,” Haley added, repeating a line she used during Wednesday’s debate, which was hosted by NewsNation in Alabama. “They’re just jealous that it’s coming to me.”
While on the stage, Haley bore the brunt of many of her opponents’ attacks, giving the impression that they saw her as the candidate to beat.
Despite their best efforts, former President Trump is still leading in virtually all national polling by a wide margin. He did not participate in the debate Wednesday.
NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.