Donald Trump Launches Verbal Assault on Nikki Haley, Using Her First Name "Nimarata"

In a recent social media post on his Truth Social platform, former President Donald Trump launched a scorching attack on his GOP presidential rival, Nikki Haley, referring to her by her first name, Nimarata. The move has raised eyebrows, as it seems to be another example of Trump inclining to use racist dog whistles to criticize his opponents. Haley, born Nimarata Nikki Randhawa, is the daughter of Indian immigrants.

After marrying Michael Haley, she adopted his last name. Trump misspelled Nimarata as ‘Nimrada’ in his post, where he mocked Haley’s recent speech and questioned her performance in the Iowa primary. "Anyone listening to Nikki 'Nimrada' Haley’s whacked-out speech last night would think that she won the Iowa Primary. She didn’t, and she couldn’t even beat a very flawed Ron DeSanctimonious, who’s out of money and out of hope," Trump quipped on Truth Social.

As per CNN reports, this is not the first time Trump has used such tactics against a political opponent, he has a history of employing racist and derogatory language, specifically against non-White individuals. Intriguingly, Trump was a leading proponent of the false “birther” conspiracy theory targeting former President Barack Obama, questioning his place of birth, eligibility, and authenticity to hold office.

Recently Trump shared a post that falsely claimed Haley was ineligible to run for president due to her parents not being U.S. citizens at the time of her birth. Despite being born in Bamberg, South Carolina, and being a U.S. citizen, these attacks reflect Trump’s divisive strategies. Vivek Ramaswamy, a former GOP presidential candidate who endorsed Trump after dropping out, also targeted Haley over her real name.

As per the reports from The Washington Post, in response to these lethal below-the-belt attacks, Haley clarified in a Fox News interview, "First of all, I was born with Nikki on my birth certificate; I was raised as Nikki, I married a Haley, and so that is what my name is, so he can say or misspell or do whatever he wants." Trump’s agenda of questioning eligibility and emphasizing names are reminiscent of his past strategies against Obama, where he often talked about Obama’s middle name, Hussein, during campaign rallies.

Now Trump seems to be using a similar cookbook against Haley. Haley’s given first name, as well as her maiden name, Randhawa, has been a subject of interest for some in the political arena. Despite Haley adopting ‘Nikki’ as her middle name since childhood, her competitors have recently tried to use it to question her authenticity.

In the lead-up to the New Hampshire primary, Trump's attempts to portray Haley as an outsider or different from the norm have intensified. Whether it's promoting misleading legal analyses or emphasizing her given first name, Trump's tactics aim to create a narrative that could influence voters in the upcoming competitive primary.