During a speech in South Carolina on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump referred to former ally Nikki Haley not by name, but by making a sound described by critics as somewhere between a gag and a belch. Trump was speaking in praise of South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster.
Trump stated that he appointed Haley, who was governor at the time, as ambassador to the United Nations in 2017 specifically to enable McMaster to become governor. "I’d say 90% of the reason I took the governor,” Trump said, referring to Haley, then made the unusual vocalization before continuing, “I took the governor, I put her over at the United Nations because I wanted this guy to be, I wanted this guy to become governor. He’s turned out to be the best governor maybe ever."
Haley, who previously served as governor of South Carolina and later as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, ran against him for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. During her campaign, she criticized Trump, calling him "unhinged" and "more diminished" than in his previous term. While she ultimately endorsed Trump after suspending her campaign, she has not been reinstated into his inner circle.
The unusual sound made by Trump to refer to Haley drew attention and commentary on social media, with some users expressing concern about his cognitive state.