Nikki Haley gives brutal take on MSG rally as former UN ambassador remains on ‘standby’ for Trump

Nikki Haley gave a surprising take of Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden Sunday while maintaining she’s ready on ‘standby’ to rectify an ‘overly masculine’ campaign.

Haley, who received more Republican primary votes than anyone who challenged Trump, has endorsed the former president but has yet to appear on the trail for him. She will be in Pennsylvania Wednesday but for Senate candidate Dave McCormack.

In an interview Tuesday, she didn’t mince words with how the controversial event in New York went, especially comic Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke about Puerto Rico as an ‘island of garbage.’

‘This bromance and this masculinity stuff, it borders on edgy to the point that it’s gonna make women uncomfortable,’ Haley said. 

She added that Republicans were right to denounce the jokes, saying it wasn’t about being ‘overly sensitive.’ 

‘This is not a time to have anyone criticize Puerto Rico or Latinos,’ Haley, the former ambassador to the UN under Trump, said. 

Haley is also worried about how Republicans are getting their message out to women.  

‘I think it’s harmful,’ she said. ‘There’s no reason to have a comedian at an election campaign event that had so much election campaign event that had so much energy and so many good issues. Why have a comedian that separates people?’

She cited an ad by a super PAC run by Elon Musk calling Kamala Harris the c-word and a cut joke from Hinchcliffe’s set that planned to call the vice president the same word.

‘That is not the way to win women. This is not the way to win people who are concerned about Trump’s style,’ she said.

Haley says that Harris is there for the taking by choosing liberal Tim Walz over moderate Josh Shapiro for her running mate. 

She said, however, that she’s still fully behind Trump after saying on her radio show earlier this week that she’s on ‘standby’ for him.

‘There’s no bad blood between me and the president, we want Donald Trump to win. If they need something, they will call and ask me. I’m a team player.’ 

Haley, the former ambassador to the UN, gave her endorsement to former President Trump in May but has been absent on the campaign trail – while admitting their personal relationship remains frosty. 

However, multiple outlets have reported that the Trump camp is wooing Haley to help shore up the former president’s standing with women.

Polling shows Kamala Harris leads Donald Trump with women over 50 by more than any presidential candidate since 2016.

The survey shows that 54% of women in that demographic plan to vote for the vice president, compared to just 42% for Trump.

This represents a huge improvement from Joe Biden, who only led Trump by three points with women over 50 in January. 

The numbers are also better than Hillary Clinton’s numbers in 2016, who polled 48%-40% over Trump.

Haley said in September that she is willing to step-up to help Donald Trump if he wants to tap her assistance despite their up-and-down past.

She was the final woman standing against Trump in the 2024 primary election with a crowded field of Republicans seeking to oust the former president for a chance at the White House. She often spoke out against Trump and aired her grievances and disagreements.

Previously, Haley served for nearly two years as Trump’s Ambassador to the United Nations from January 2017 through December 2018.

‘He knows I’m on standby,’ Haley said of Trump when asked if she is going to go on the road to campaign for the Republican nominee.

‘I talked to him back in June,’ she told CBS Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan. ‘He’s aware that I’m ready if he ever needs me to do that.’ 

Haley said she was not asked to hit the general election trail when pressed on if Trump reached out.

‘That’s his choice. He can, you know, whatever he decides to do with his campaign, he can do that,’ she said. ‘But when I called him back in June, I told him I was supportive.’

‘I think the teams have talked to each other a little bit, but there hasn’t been an ask as of yet,’ the former South Carolina Governor noted. ‘But you know, should he ask, I’m happy to be helpful.’

Haley released her delegates to Trump after she dropped out of the primary race following sweeping losses on Super Tuesday. By winning the primaries in Washington, D.C. and Vermont – both very blue areas where even Republicans are more left-leaning – Haley became the first woman to win a state or territorial GOP primary contest.

She endorsed Trump and in May said she would vote for the former president in November.