Itâs bad enough for Nikki Haley that sheâs the target of most of the Republican field at the moment. Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, Chris Christie â they all seem to be turning their fire on her.
Now, it seems, even 9-year-olds are taking it out on the mediaâs new favorite Trump alternative.
At an event in New Hampshire on Thursday, the pre-teen went viral after saying that, on the issue of Donald Trump, she was âbasically the new John Kerryâ because of her flip-flopping.
The question was addressing criticism from Christie that Haley was being soft on Trump; as the New York Post noted, Haley has tried to have it both ways, arguing that the former president was the right leader for the time he was in office, his efficacy would be limited due to what she termed the âchaosâ he causes.
At the event in North Conway, New Hampshire, the 51-year old Haley was confronted on the incongruence by the 9-year-old.
âChris Christie thinks youâre a flip-flopper on the Donald Trump issue, and honestly, I agree with him,â the child said to Haley, who was Trumpâs ambassador to the United Nations
âYouâre basically the new John Kerry, if you remember John Kerry from 2004.â
Yes, Nikki Haley is being schooled about John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic standard-bearer notable for his flip-flopping on the Iraq War, by a child who wouldnât even be born for another decade. Ouch.
The kid went on to ask how she could âchange your opinion like that in just eight years, and will you pardon Donald Trump?â
Haley then went on to say she got flak from both âanti-Trumpersâ and âpro-Trumpersâ for her stance on the former president and current GOP front-runner.
âI told you that I agreed with a lot of his policies. But do I think heâs the right president to go forward? No,â Haley said.
âWe canât handle the chaos anymore.â
Well, apparently voters donât feel that way. According to the RealClearPolitics polling aggregate as of Friday morning, Trump is at 62.5 percent nationally, 51.2 points clear of his next closest challenger.
While New Hampshire is closer, that still doesnât make it close; there, Trump is merely up by 21.5 over Haley, 46.3 percent to 24.8 percent.
Furthermore, it shouldnât be a matter of pride to be hated by both the pro-Trump and anti-Trump forces within the Republican Party. To Haleyâs ear, this makes her sound independent. But to most voters, all it shows is that the field is united on one issue: Sheâs not the woman to carry on either Trumpâs legacy or move the Republican Party forward.
That said, Haley has been the only candidate to show steady improvement in the polls aside from Trump. However, she seems to have more or less hit her ceiling â and the rest of the field is training its fire on her. Even Chris Christie â who Haley noted was âobsessedâ with Trump â has taken a break from attacking the former president in order to attack her.
Now, even 9-year-olds are comparing Haley to John Kerry. As much as Haley tried to smile and laugh it off, that one had to hurt.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.