Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley claimed on Tuesday that she hasn’t “paid attention” when asked about her GOP rival Donald Trump being found liable for the defamation and sexual abuse of columnist E. Jean Carroll.
When pressed again by CNN anchor Dana Bash, Haley added that she hadn’t “looked at” the case but that Trump “needs to pay the price” if he’s guilty—despite the fact that a jury is now merely determining what additional damages Trump must pay Carroll.
Following his landslide victory in the Iowa Republican caucus, Trump flew directly to New York City to attend the start of the new civil damages trial on Tuesday. A jury found last year that Trump was liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, awarding the writer $5 million. Since that ruling, the former president has continued to publicly attack Carroll, prompting yet another trial over damages.
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With the GOP frontrunner in Manhattan, Haley was campaigning in New Hampshire alongside the state’s governor Chris Sununu when she sat down with Bash on Tuesday afternoon. After Sununu declared that Trump was “chicken” and wouldn’t get up on the debate stage with Haley, the CNN anchor noted that the ex-president was currently in a New York courthouse. (The former president, however, will hold a rally in the state later in the evening.)
“And I want to ask you about that,” Bash said, turning to Haley. “He actually chose to be there. He’s already been found liable for defaming E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of raping her 30 years ago. A jury found him liable for sexual abuse. And this trial that he’s attending today is about damages that he must pay her.”
The host added: “You’re the only woman in this race. How do you feel about your party’s frontrunner being held liable for sexual abuse?”
Haley, though, asserted that she wasn’t well-versed in Trump’s legal battles.
“I mean, first of all, I haven’t paid attention to his cases,” she replied. “And I’m not a lawyer. All I know is that he’s innocent until proven guilty. And when he’s proven guilty and he's sitting in a courtroom, that’s exactly what I’m talking about.”
After Haley attempted to pivot by insisting both Trump and President Joe Biden are currently dealing with investigations, Bash kept the focus directly on Trump.
“Forgive me, but a lot of people in the Republican Party blow it all off and say that it’s all a witch hunt, which is what he says,” the anchor stated.
“Because I think some of the cases have been political,” Haley shot back.
“But this case in particular?” Bash followed up.
“This one, I haven’t looked at,” Haley once again demurred. “Look, if he’s found guilty, then he needs to pay the price. He needs to do what he’s supposed to. Every one of these cases, they need to be heard out. He needs to defend himself. If he is found guilty, he’s going to pay the price. If he’s not found guilty, then we move forward.”
Needless to say, the former UN ambassador’s claim that she doesn’t know much about Trump’s cases or legal issues was met with extreme skepticism by political observers and journalists on Tuesday.
“Memorized the oppo file on Ron DeSantis, down to the esoteric details, but hasn’t ‘paid attention to’ the frontrunner for the nomination being found liable by a jury for sexual abuse,” NBC News’ Sahil Kapur tweeted. “Doesn’t have an opinion on it.”
Others, meanwhile, wondered if she was holding back criticism of Trump in hopes that he’d name her his running mate once he wins the Republican primary.
“She is desperate to be his VP. Especially post Iowa,” former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan wrote, referencing Haley’s third-place finish in the Iowa caucus.
