South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) on Wednesday tried to soften critiques she gave of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush while defending her response to the State of the Union address.
When Haley was asked Wednesday if she was referring to real estate mogul Donald Trump in her GOP response, which contained some pro-immigrant remarks, she clarified that she was indeed talking about Trump. But she went on to distance herself from some other Republican presidential candidates as well.
“I have disagreements with other presidential candidates,” she told reporters in South Carolina. “Jeb Bush passed Common Core and Marco Rubio believes in amnesty which I don’t. There’s lots of things.”
In an interview with Fox News’ “On the Record,” Haley, who’s frequently mentioned as a potential Republican vice presidential candidate, tried to walk those comments back.
“I talked about Marco Rubio—you know, I’m against his Gang of Eight bill. He is not for amnesty, but I was against his Gang of Eight bill,” she said. “Gov. Bush, he supported Common Core, certainly didn’t pass it, but supported it.”
Haley also noted that she considers Trump “a friend,” but disagrees with “the fact that he wants to start using religion as a way to divide people.”
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h/t: Politico
