Donald Trump has been mocked on social media after appearing to get Nikki Haley mixed up with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The former president falsely said that his Republican presidential rival was in charge of security at Congress when the complex was stormed by his supporters on January 6, 2021.
Speaking at a rally in Concord, New Hampshire, on Friday, Trump said: "By the way, they never report the crowd on January 6. You know Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, did you know they destroyed all of the information, all of the evidence, everything, deleted and destroyed all of it? All of it. Because of lots of things like Nikki Haley is in charge of security. We offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, National Guards, whatever they want. They turned it down. They don't want to talk about that. These are very dishonest people." Newsweek emailed Trump's campaign team on Saturday for comment
Haley, whom Trump appointed as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, played no role in security on January 6, 2021. The Republican 2024 frontrunner seems to have been confusing her with Pelosi, then speaker of the house, who was involved in the protection of Congress. However, according to CNN, the speaker isn't in overall charge either, with this responsibility falling on the Capitol Police Board, which commands the U.S. Capitol Police and can approve requests for support from National Guard troops.
Trump won the Iowa Republican caucus on January 15 with 51 percent of the vote, well ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in second place on 21 percent, and Haley in third with 19 percent. However, a recent poll put Haley just four points behind Trump in New Hampshire, which holds its Republican primary on January 23.
A clip of Trump's comments, originally broadcast by conservative-leaning outlet Right Side Broadcasting Network, was widely shared on X, formerly Twitter.
According to Trump “they” don’t want to talk about how Nikki Haley was in charge of security on January 6.
pic.twitter.com/U9J2h0emP8 — Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) January 20, 2024
Posting on X, David Corn, Washington D.C. bureau chief for Mother Jones, wrote: "This is quite a slip. Trump confused Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi. If Biden did anything like this, Fox would melt down."
This is quite a slip. Trump confused Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi. If Biden did anything like this, Fox would melt down. https://t.co/FWoFiMO8Dq — David Corn (@DavidCornDC) January 20, 2024
Anti-Trump conservative group Republicans Against Trump, which has over 550,000 followers on X, commented: "Trump just confused Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi, saying Nikki Haley was in charge of the Capitol security on Jan. 6. Trump's dementia is getting worse by the day."
Trump just confused Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi, saying Nikki Haley was in charge of the Capitol security on Jan. 6
Trump’s dementia is getting worse by the day.#TrumpMentalHealth #TrumpIsNotWell pic.twitter.com/xgmrVGSRzR — Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 20, 2024
The group added the hashtag '#TrumpIsNotWell', which became a trending topic across the United States and was used by Rick Wilson, co-founder of anti-Trump conservative faction The Lincoln Project.
There is no publicly available medical evidence to support the suggestion that Trump is suffering from dementia. The attacks on the former president come amid a heavy focus on the health and mental acuity of 81-year-old Biden, with recent polling showing a majority of Americans don't want either man to run again in 2024.
Republican presidential hopeful and former US President Donald Trump raises his fist as he speaks at a campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire, on January 19, 2024. During the event Trump appeared to confuse Nikki Haley, his GOP presidential rival, with former House speaker Nancy Pelosi. TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP/GETTY
Democratic activist Joanne Carducci, who goes by the username JoJoFromJerz on X, commented: "Umm... Donald Trump just repeatedly confused Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi. But sure, he can identify a f****** whale." This appears to be a reference to Trump's recent claim that, four years ago, he passed a mental agility test, which involved identifying a whale.
Ron Filipkowski, editor-in-chief of self-styled "pro-democracy news network" Meidas Touch, wrote on X: "If Trump really wanted Desantis to drop out early he probably shouldn't have given a speech tonight where he said Haley was in charge of security at Capitol on J6 [January 6, 2021]. If I was Desantis and I had 1 delegate and $1 in my campaign account I'm staying in and watching him come apart."
If Trump really wanted Desantis to drop out early he probably shouldn’t have given a speech tonight where he said Haley was in charge of security at Capitol on J6. If I was Desantis and I had 1 delegate and $1 in my campaign account I’m staying in and watching him come apart. — Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) January 20, 2024
Todd Hagopian, treasurer of the Libertarian Party, also shared the clip of Trump talking about Haley, commenting: "He's losing his damn mind..."
On January 6, 2021, hundreds of Trump supporters broke into Congress in a bid to stop the certification of Biden's 2020 election victory. In the ensuing violence, Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old Trump supporter, was shot dead, and dozens of police officers were injured.
Trump has pled not guilty to criminal charges at both the federal level and in the state of Georgia, related to claims he broke the law while trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election result. He denies any wrongdoing and has repeatedly said that the charges are part of a political witch hunt aimed at derailing him as GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential campaign.