Nikki Haley questioned Donald Trump’s mental faculties Wednesday night after he publicly claimed that she wouldn’t appear on the ballot for the Indiana primary.
“Nikki Haley is not on the Ballot in Indiana because she didn’t get enough Petition Signatures—She missed the deadline!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post about his final remaining challenger for the 2024 GOP nomination. “If she’s not on in Indiana, she’s not a serious Candidate.”
“Looks like Donald Trump is confused again,” Haley wrote in an X post replying to Trump’s claim. “Another reason why he’s too afraid to debate me.”
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A spokesperson for the former South Carolina governor later confirmed to Politico reporter Adam Wren that Haley will, in fact, be on the ballot in Indiana. “We turned in more than double all the signatures required and they are being verified now as part of the process before the filing deadline on February 9,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying.
The Indiana primary is set to take place on May 7, toward the end of the primary season. Trump, who has already clinched victories over Haley in both Iowa and New Hampshire, is increasing pressure on the former ambassador to the United Nations to drop out of the race and allowing Trump to focus his attacks on President Joe Biden. He’s recently threatened to banish any new donors to Haley’s campaign from his “MAGA camp.”
Haley, for her part, has vowed to remain in the race despite her early setbacks and is now seemingly going after her 77-year-old rival’s age and mental fitness. This week, her campaign launched a new series of attack ads titled “Grumpy Old Men,” criticizing both Trump and 81-year-old Biden as showing signs of cognitive decline.
She’s also called for mental competency tests for lawmakers over the age of 75. “Do we really want to go into an election with two fellas that are going to be president in their eighties?” Haley said at an event in New Hampshire earlier this month.
Trump, who appeared to confuse Haley with Nancy Pelosi in a Jan. 19 speech, insisted over the weekend that he feels “sharper now than I did 20 years ago.”
