Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley showed up on Saturday Night Live to ask Trump why he wouldn’t debate her and get a new answer about what caused the Civil War.
What did Nikki Haley say on SNL?
Haley was introduced as a concerned South Carolina voter and asked SNL Trump: “Yeah, hi. Why don’t you talk about Nikki Haley?”
SNL Trump responded: “Oh my God, it’s her! The woman who was in charge of security on January 6th. This is Nancy Pelosi!
Haley then asked Trump, “Are you okay, Donald? A mental competency test may be required.
Trump responded: “Do you know what I did? I took the test and passed with flying colors, okay? Perfect score. They said I’m 100% mental. And you know, I’m competent because I’m a man. This is why a woman should never run our economy. Women are terrible with money. A woman I know recently asked me for $83.3 million.
Haley responded: “And you spent $50 million on your legal fees. Do you need to borrow some money?”
SNL Trump said, “Oh, Nikki, don’t do that, Nikki. Nikki Tikitavi. Nikki, don’t miss that number. Nikki Haley. Joel Osment. Nikki Haley, Joel Osment, we call her. Six cents, remember that? I see dead people.
Haley came back with, “Yeah, that’s what the voters will say if they see you and Joe on the ballot.”
Haley then closed the segment by repeating what caused the Civil War question: “I was just curious, what would you say was the root cause of the Civil War? Um, and you think it starts with an S and ends with a lavery?
Nikki Haley said: “Yeah, I probably should have said that the first time. And live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”
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An appearance at SNL’s cold open was the best publicity Haley’s campaign could have dreamed of. The appearance was particularly dangerous for Trump because Haley got to raise his point about the former president’s cognitive decline, which he hammered on the campaign trail.
Haley also took pains to point out that Trump won’t argue with her and that he’s wasting his campaign money on lawyers.
Nikki Haley is still very unlikely to win South Carolina, but her appearance on SNL did more damage to Trump and helped make him even more unelectable.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a member of the White House press pool and a congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and professional memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association