Donald Trump claimed he āpurposelyā meant to āinterposeā the names of former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, California) and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley during his January 6 mix-up last month.
āItās very hard to be sarcastic when I interpose. Iām not a Nicki fan and Iām not a Pelosi fan. And when I purposely interpose names they said, āHe didnāt know Pelosi from Nikki from tricky Nikki, tricky Dicky,āā the former president said at a South Carolina rally on Wednesday.
āI interpose and they make a big deal out of it. I said, āNo, no, I think they both stink, they have something in common, they both stink.ā And remember this, when I make a statement like that about Nikki that means she will never be running for vice president.ā
Trumpās remarks arrived weeks after he named Haley ā his Republican rival, a former United Nations ambassador and ex-South Carolina governor ā as the person āin charge of securityā during the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
The House speaker cannot direct the National Guard and isnāt in charge of security at the Capitol.
Haley, in response, questioned the mental fitness of the current Republican front-runner āā who has repeatedly bragged about his performance on a cognitive test āā and suggested heās ānot as sharp asā he used to be.
Critics on X were quick to mock the former president, pointing out that he didnāt accurately use the word āinterpose.ā