DNC chair slams Nikki Haley as a 'MAGA minion'

Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison railed against 2024 GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Monday, labeling her a “MAGA minion” and pushing back on her public positioning as a moderate alternative to former President Trump.

“Today, as Nikki Haley officially files for South Carolina's Republican primary, I — like so many other South Carolinians — remember her for what she was: a dangerous, out of touch MAGA extremist governor who was a complete disaster for our state,” Harrison said in a thread on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

“Nikki may be singing a different song now, but don’t be fooled: when it comes to the issues, she is just as extreme as the rest of the MAGA field — and the good people of South Carolina have had enough,” he said.

Harrison slammed Haley for claiming to take a softer touch on her anti-abortion position, saying, she’s trying to “rewrite her history on abortion.”

Haley has said the issue of abortion needs to be treated with more compassion and has pushed back against efforts to target women who get abortions. She also said, however, she would “absolutely” sign a 15-week abortion ban if elected president, but stressed she didn’t think there were a chance of such a bill ever getting passed the Senate.

“In South Carolina,” Harrison said, “we remember her as the governor that signed into law an extreme abortion ban that made no exceptions for rape or incest AND threatened doctors with fines or jail time.”

“Just like the rest of the MAGA minions, Nikki does not give a damn about working people. She consistently turned her back on thousands of South Carolinians by refusing to expand Medicaid and embracing a plan to end the program as we know it,” he said. 

Harrison’s attack on Haley comes as she has seen a significant boost in the polls — most recently, tying for second place with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in the latest Des Moines Register poll in Iowa.

While former President Trump still leads by double-digit margins, Haley could present a threat to the former president and thereby also pose a threat to the current president — who, like Haley, presents himself as a reasonable leader and experienced lawmaker who is interested in working across the aisle.