Nikki Haley, searching for a message to dent Donald J. Trump’s appeal with Republican voters, took him to task on Sunday for the $83 million verdict for defaming a woman he was already liable for sexually assaulting, saying she “absolutely” trusted the jury’s judgment for the writer, E. Jean Carroll.
But she stopped short of saying the New York civil verdict and award disqualified him from returning to the presidency, leaving that judgment to the voters.
Four weeks before what could be the decisive Republican primary in South Carolina, Ms. Haley is trying to navigate an extremely narrow and treacherous path, finding a way to diminish Mr. Trump’s hold on the party’s electorate without decisively turning conservative voters against her the way they have destroyed other Trump critics.
Her jabs at him have endeared her to donors in both parties, swelling her coffers and keeping her in the race.
But a string of different messages has so far done little to actually attract voters.
Persons:
Nikki Haley, Donald J, defaming, Jean Carroll, Haley, Trump’s
Organizations:
Republican, New, Trump
Locations:
New York, South Carolina