Nikki Haley has hit back at Donald Trump after the former president released a campaign ad taking aim at his 2024 Republican rival.
“That’s the sound of us surging,” the former US ambassador to the United Nations said in Iowa as she campaigned to be the GOP presidential nominee.
Ms Haley has overtaken Florida governor Ron DeSantis in second place in the GOP primary in New Hampshire, according to new polls.
“If these guys are going to lie about me, I’m going to tell the truth about them.”
And she added: “Donald Trump is now attacking me. That’s the sound of us surging.”
Mr Trump’s MAGA INc. PAC launched an ad in New Hampshire on Tuesday attacking Ms Haley over gas tax raises in South Carolina when she was governor.
In turn, she fired back at Mr Trump in a new 30-second ad buy in New Hampshire.
“Of all the Republicans running for president, why is Donald Trump only attacking Nikki Haley? Because Trump knows Haley’s the only one who can beat him,” the narrator in the ad stated.
“As governor, Nikki Haley cut taxes for small businesses by 40 per cent. And now she’s pledging to eliminate the federal gas tax. Want an 80-year-old name from the past or new generation of conservative leadership?”
According to the The Hill/Decision Desk HQ average of polls, Ms Haley has about 23 per cent support in New Hampshire while Mr Trump leads the field with 45 per cent.
Ms Haley also attacked Mr Trump on X.
“Two days ago, Donald Trump denied our surge in New Hampshire existed. Now, he’s running a negative ad against me,” she said on the platform. “Someone’s getting nervous.”
