Haley dodges when asked if she sees herself as ‘insurance policy’ in Republican primary

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley skirted around answering whether she sees herself as an “insurance policy” Wednesday, amid her vow to stay in the GOP primary race despite low polling numbers. 

Replying to the question from Fox News’s Bill Hemmer, Haley said, “Well, what I see myself is making sure that we as Republicans do everything we can to win.”

“Look, he’s already had, I think three verdicts against him now, over a half billion dollars he’s going to have to pay. All he talks about is these court cases,” she continued in the interview on “America’s Newsroom,” referring to the GOP primary front-runner, former President Trump. “He’s not talking about the American people.”

Trump faces 91 counts across four criminal indictments, along with a series of civil cases in which he has been ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines. The trial for his hush money case in New York is poised to be his first criminal one, with a slated start date of March 25. 

Some political analysts have argued Haley is remaining in the race in case Trump is convicted or put in prison before the election, or if the Constitution — under several 14th Amendment insurrection clause challenges — bars him from running. 

Haley, a former United Nations ambassador, argued the former president is “distracted” about himself and his court cases. 

“He’s going to be in court March, April, May and June. By his own words, he’s going to be spending more time in a courtroom than he will on the campaign trail,” she said, still deflecting the question. “That is not how Republicans win.”

Hemmer then asked Haley again if she would see herself as an insurance policy “depending” on the outcome of Trump’s court cases. 

“I very much see myself as a Republican option that people can realize when you see Donald Trump can’t win and you know that we have to turn this country around, then I am your alternative,” she responded. “That’s what I’ve always tried to say is, look, let’s get somebody who can win.”

Haley, also the former governor of South Carolina, will face off against Trump in her home state’s primary on Saturday. Trump has a nearly 30-point lead over Haley in the Palmetto State, according to a polling index from The Hill and Decision Desk HQ. 

Despite Haley’s low numbers and previous primary losses, she reaffirmed her vow on Tuesday to stay in the race after the South Carolina primary.

Haley also touched upon her electability argument on Wednesday. She has repeatedly argued on the campaign trail that she has a better chance of beating President Biden on the general election ticket — pointing to polls that show the former president and Biden within single digits of one another. 

“When I defeat Biden by double digits, when I win swing states over Biden, that’s how you win a general election,” Haley said Wednesday. “You don’t win a general election sitting in a courtroom.”

“You don’t win a general election where you’re taking the side of Putin over our allies who stood next to us at 9/11,” she added.