Biden campaign slams surging Nikki Haley: “MAGA extremist”

President Joe Biden‘s reelection campaign called Nikki Haley, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate who is rising in popularity in polling, a “MAGA extremist” on Friday for her stance on abortion.

Haley, who served as South Carolina governor from 2011 to 2017, has portrayed herself as one of the more moderate GOP candidates in the race, particularly with her view on abortion. While Haley describes herself as “unapologetically pro-life,” she has urged Americans to stop “demonizing” the medical procedure and has pushed for adoption and access to contraception.

In June 2022, the Supreme Court‘s decision on Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade in which it ruled that there is no constitutional right to an abortion, returning the issue to the state level.

During a forum of conservative Christians in Iowa on Friday, Haley was asked if she would sign a “heartbeat bill” if she was still governor of South Carolina. Haley said: “Yes, whatever the people decide.” So-called heartbeat bills ban abortions at around six weeks, or the point at which cardiac activity—incorrectly known as the fetal “heartbeat”—can be detected.

Haley added: “This was put in the states—that’s where it should be. Everyone can give their voice to it.” In 2016 when she was governor, Haley signed a ban on abortion in South Carolina at 20 weeks unless the mother’s life is at risk.

Biden’s campaign team rejected the idea of Haley as a “moderate” choice, given her history on anti-abortion legislation.

“Nikki Haley is no moderate – she’s an anti-abortion MAGA extremist who wants to rip away women’s freedoms just like she did when she was South Carolina governor,” Biden-Harris 2024 rapid response director Ammar Moussa wrote in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday. “Now Haley is promising to bring that same fear, anxiety, and dread she forced on South Carolina women to every woman in the country.”

Moussa continued: “Whether it’s Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, or any other MAGA extremist – the entire field is running on a dangerous anti-freedom agenda that the American people have made clear they do not want.”

Newsweek reached out to Haley’s team via email for comment and Moussa via X direct message for comment.

While Haley has praised the Trump administration in the past, she has also criticized Donald Trump on the campaign trial.

“I’ve always said that he was the right president at the right time and I agree with a lot of his policies,” Haley said on Fox News Sunday last week. “The problem is drama and chaos follows him, whether fairly or not. It is constantly following him and Americans feel it.”

What the Polls Show

According to new polling data, Haley, who also served as the former president’s U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has surged to second place on the Republican primary ballot in New Hampshire as Trump continues his strong lead.

In an Emerson College Polling/WHDH poll conducted between November 10 and 13, with a sample size of 917 registered New Hampshire voters, Haley received 18 percent of voter support. This is an increase from the 4 percent she received in August. Meanwhile, Trump received 49 percent of voter support in the poll, which is consistent with his numbers from August. The poll’s margin of error was 3.3 percentage points.

In addition, a New York Times/Siena College survey from earlier this month found Haley outperforming Trump in head-to-head matchups with Biden in six key swing states—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.