Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley tore into ABC News anchor Jonathan Karl over the media’s continued “obsession” with former President Donald Trump.
Haley, the former South Carolina governor who served as Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, got irritated with Karl after he asked her several questions about the GOP presidential front-runner during an interview on “This Week” on Sunday.
Haley finally had enough after Karl asked her about what he called Trump’s “running on retribution” as well as his plan to go about “annihilating his enemies and using the criminal justice to do so” if he wins the White House.
“You guys are exhausting! You’re exhausting in your obsession with him!” Haley told Karl.
Her comments were reported by Mediaite.
Haley told Karl that “normal people aren’t obsessed with Trump like you guys [in the media] are.”
“The normal people care about the fact that they can’t afford things,” Haley told Karl.
“They feel like their freedoms are being taken away. They think government is too big.”
Haley said that the attention given to Trump is “exactly why we need a new generational leader” since “people don’t want to hear about every word a person says or every tweet.”
She predicted that “life will be a whole lot different if the media would stop this obsession with Trump.”
The Post has sought comment from Trump.
The latest CBS News poll shows Haley gaining ground on Trump in New Hampshire.
Among likely GOP primary voters, Trump gets 44% of the vote while Haley gets 29% — making her the most formidable contender to Trump’s third bid for the presidency, as The Post reported.
She received far more support than Trump’s remaining GOP rivals, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis getting 11%, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 10%, and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 5%.
Trump, however, still maintains a commanding lead in Iowa and other states.
Haley was interviewed by Karl on Sunday alongside New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican who has endorsed Haley.
Trump on Saturday blasted Sununu, telling supporters at a rally in the Granite State that their governor was a “spoiled brat.”
“I didn’t like your governor very much,” Trump said.
