WASHINGTON − With less than one week until the New Hampshire primaries, Nikki Haley is shifting her tone when talking about her former boss: Donald Trump.
Haley has ramped up attacks during campaign stops throughout the week going after both the former president and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis − but noticeably throwing more jabs toward the former president.
Recent polling shows Haley in second place in the state's Republican primary contest scheduled for Jan 23. But she falls more than 10 points behind Trump, according to a poll published by the Saint Anselm College Survey Center last week.
Nikki Haley went after Trump earlier this week for throwing a "temper tantrum" at a New Hampshire rally where he criticized her work as former U.N. ambassador and called her a "disaster" when she worked in his administration. Trump also quipped that Haley was "not tough enough" when dealing with foreign countries as the U.N. ambassador.
"I know Trump threw a temper tantrum about me last night. I heard that," Haley said at a rally in Rochester Wednesday. "And I've seen the commercials. I will always tell you the truth. I will always overcommunicate with you."
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Haley has stepped up her response to the former president attacking on her candidacy after coming in third place behind Trump and DeSantis in Iowa's Caucuses earlier this week,
"One of those things that my friend Trump said was that I didn't want to close the border," Haley said in New Hampshire. "You saw what I said about the border. He said I didn't want a wall. What I said is I don't want just a wall. We've got to do more than that to make sure we have no flow coming in. So we answered that question."
The former South Carolina governor's change in tune isn't accidental. The attacks are strategic, David Hopkins, an associate professor of political science at Boston College, told USA TODAY.
Recent polls show Haley has a strong lead in the state over DeSantis. Hopkins said it can get complicated in a multi-candidate primary because when two candidates attack each other, it often benefits the third.
"It makes more sense for her to be a bit more aggressive in going after Trump because she doesn't have to worry so much about bleeding support to some third or fourth or fifth candidate in the race," he said.
She has also been going after DeSantis, accusing him of lying about his record as governor and in Congress during last week's debate.
“He's closer to zero than he is to me," Haley said of DeSantis during a campaign stop in New Hampshire Thursday. "I mean, he’s invisible in New Hampshire, he’s invisible in South Carolina. We're focused on Trump.
"Every time he lies − Drake University, don't turn this into a drinking game − because you will be over served by the end of the night," Haley said. "You can't trust what Ron's saying."
Although Haley has been clear she does not want to be the next vice president, her attacks on Trump aren't helping her keep her options open to become the former president's first pick for a running mate.
"Trump really values loyalty and people saying nice things about him and so once you say anything negative, you're probably tumbling down the list for a potential VP slot," Hopkins said.
Contributing: Francesca Chambers
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