GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley says she trusts the jury in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation case against former President Trump, which found him liable for $83.3 million in damages but doesn’t think he should be taken off the ballot.
“I trust the jury, and I think they made their decision based on the evidence. I don’t think that should take him off the ballot,” Haley said in an interview.
“I think the American people will take him off the ballot, and I think the best way to go forward is not letting him play the victim. Let him play the loser. That’s what we want him to do at the end of the day,” Haley continued.
On MSNBC, Nikki Haley expresses her support for the E. Jean Carroll verdict.
Reid Hoffman funded the E. Jean Carroll lawsuit and is currently bankrolling the presidential campaign for Nikki Haley. pic.twitter.com/cXsusCrRuB
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 28, 2024
On Friday, a jury ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million in defamation damages when he denied the writer’s accusation he assaulted her in the mid-1990s. Donald Trump said he would appeal the verdict.
Earlier, a separate jury found the former president liable for abuse in a defamation trial last year with Carroll over a separate comment and ordered him to pay $5 million.
When asked if the ruling should disqualify Trump from the race, Haley said the voters should decide.
“I don’t think he should be taken off the ballot, and I think the American people will decide if he’s disqualified. We don’t do that in America, so anybody that wants to run can run. I think that’s important, and we’ve seen many people try to infringe on our freedoms and democracy,” Haley said.
Haley was then asked why she was giving former President Trump a free pass when a jury found him liable for abuse. The former South Carolina governor said she was not giving him a free pass.
“I’m not giving him a pass on anything; I mean, I have said, you know, he went on for three or four minutes talking about how I didn’t secure the Capitol on Jan. 6. I mean, he was confused, thinking that I was Nancy Pelosi, but look, that’s exactly why we don’t need two people in their 80s running for president,” Haley added.
Trump adviser Jason Miller posted a news story suggesting Haley crossed the line by defending the verdict.
“There is no point of return. Haley is politically finished for ‘24, ‘28, forever.” Miller posted on X.
Haley returned to her home state of South Carolina Saturday to gain support ahead of the Feb 24 Republican primary, in which she trails Trump by a 30-point margin, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average.
