Washington, Dec 15 (IANS) Indian-American Nikki Haley, who has emerged as a strong contender in the Republican presidential primary race, doesn't think her rival Donald Trump is the right person to be President at the moment.
During the fourth Republican debate on December 6, Haley, the former South Carolina Governor, did not answer whether Trump is fit to be Ppresident, but she told ABC News that it is not about fitness but rather Trump is just not the right person to be President right now.
"It's not about fitness. I think he's fit to be President. It's 'Should he be President?' I don't think he should be President. I thought he was the right President at the right time," Haley said in an interview that was aired on Monday.
"We've got to look at the issues that we're dealing with, coming forward with new solutions, not focusing on negativity and baggage of the past. So it's not about being fit. It's just I don't think he's the right person to be President," she said.
Trump maintains an unprecedented lead over his rivals in both early state and national polls, with 61 per cent of self-identified Republicans saying they would vote for the former President in the state-by-state nominating contest, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll.
Haley, who served as Trump’s UN ambassador for the first two years of his administration, has urged the country to move past him in recent interviews.
In an interview with CNN this week, Haley said that though she recognises the strong voter support Trump has, “chaos” continues to follow him.
“I think President Trump was the right President at the right time. I agree with a lot of his policies, but chaos follows him. Rightly or wrongly, chaos follows him. We can’t afford four more years of chaos and survive it,” Haley told CNN.
However, at the first Republican debate, Haley had indicated that she would support her former boss as their party's nominee for the 2024 race even if he was convicted of a felony.
"I'm not going to be 100 per cent with him. I'm not going to be 100 per cent against him. It's not personal for me. This is about what's right for the country," she told ABC.
"This is about how we're going to lead. This is about the direction we should go. It's not about the personal thoughts of an individual. It's about the fact that we have a country to save."
Haley recently got a big edge in the presidential race with an endorsement from New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu.
He called her “the candidate with the momentum to win and get our party back on track to delivering conservative victories across the country”.