Haley Taking Heat from Republicans After 2015 Immigrant Remarks Resurface

Nikki Haley has managed to get herself back into a corner yet again.

So far, every time I have thought she made a mistake that would end her campaign, she winds up surging.

After hearing her comments about illegal immigrants from 2015, however, I am not sure if she will be able to recover.

Bad Timing

Haley has had a massive surge in polling as of late. So much so, she trickled ahead of Ron DeSantis in national polling by 0.1% for a hot minute, but has since dropped down, now trailing him by 0.9%.

It will be interesting to see final polling before New Hampshire and Iowa vote after two major gaffes by Haley.

First, Haley was in New Hampshire, “cutting up,” as she put it when she said Iowa goes first, then New Hampshire corrects.

Haley tried to clean up that mess during her recent town hall, but I am not so sure it sat well with Iowa voters.

Then, comments from an interview that Haley had in July 2015 resurfaced, when she was asked about her thoughts on the immigration debate since her family immigrated from India.

Haley responded, “So I think that what we have to remember and what I’ve always believed is that we’re a country of laws. That is what’s made us strong … it’s incredibly frustrating for a lot of people when they see the illegal immigrants being able to come across. It really is astonishing that after all these years, D.C. can’t figure out how to build a wall. It really is, after all of what they spend.

“Having said that, we are a country of immigrants. I am the proud daughter of Indian parents who reminded us every day how blessed we are to live in this country. They resent when people come here illegally. But let’s keep in mind, these people who are wanting to come here, they’re wanting to come for a better life too. They have kids too. They have a heart too, so we don’t need to be disrespectful. We don’t need to talk about them as criminals, they’re not. They’re families that want a better life and they’re desperate to get here.

“What we need to do is make sure we have a set of laws that we follow and we go through with that. I think that some things have been said that are unfortunate and wrong but I think we also need to remember, especially for all of us … tone and communication matters and people matter. We don’t ever need to talk about this in a cold-hearted way … be kinder than necessary.”

Here is the video that is blowing up right now…

🚨🚨Nikki Haley says you shouldn't call illegal immigrants "criminals." pic.twitter.com/enDXAF7Ov4

— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) January 4, 2024

Every talking head in the party slammed Haley for that comment, including Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL).

And now, yours truly will chime in.

First and foremost, I don’t know a single sole who has a problem with legal immigration because those immigrants are actually respecting our laws and coming into the country legally.

By their very definition, people crossing into this country illegally have broken the law, so they are, by definition, criminals.

I would take that one level above and ask Haley, are these people not disrespecting our laws by coming into the country illegally? Respect is a two-day street, at least it was the last time I checked.

As we dig deeper and deeper into Haley, there is less about her to like. She now seems as though she is someone who will say whatever is needed to land a vote.

There was a time when I thought Haley or Governor Kristi Noem would have been the ideal candidate to be the first woman president, but that hope has since faded.