Former US president Donald Trump has questioned why Nikki Haley's husband wasn't on the campaign trail, drawing sharp responses from both the former UN ambassador and her husband, who is currently abroad on a National Guard mission.
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"What happened to her husband?" Trump told a crowd in Conway, South Carolina, as he and Haley held events across the state ahead of its February 24 Republican primary. "Where is he? He's gone. He knew. He knew."
Responded Haley in a post on X: "Michael is deployed serving our country, something you know nothing about."
It's the latest example of Trump disparaging his opponents based on their US military service, going back to his questioning of whether the late senator John McCain, a prisoner of war in Vietnam, was a hero because Trump liked "people who weren't captured."
Throughout his political career, Trump has been accused of disregarding longstanding norms on avoiding attacking current or past service members or people in a politician's family.
Michael Haley began a year-long stint in June with the South Carolina Army National Guard.
Shortly after Trump's comments, Michael Haley posted a meme on his own X account with a picture of a wolf and the text: "The difference between humans and animals? Animals would never allow the dumbest ones to lead the pack." Nikki Haley's campaign confirmed the account belonged to her husband.
Trump has said he avoided service in the Vietnam War through student and medical deferments.
Haley has pushed Trump to debate her as she seeks to change the trajectory of the race after the former president and heavy front-runner won the first three primary states. She again challenged him at a campaign stop on Saturday night.
"Donald, if you have something to say, don't say it behind my back. Get on a debate stage and say it to my face," she told a crowd.
Haley expressed pride in her husband's service, adding that every military spouse knows military careers are a "family sacrifice."
As she has frequently done in speeches over the past year, Haley recounted her husband's difficulty readjusting to life after his deployment to Afghanistan. He couldn't tolerate loud noises, she said, and couldn't stand crowds.
People like her husband make such sacrifices "because they still believe in this amazing experiment that is America," Haley said.
"If they're willing to sacrifice for us, shouldn't we be willing to fight for America here? Because we have a country to save," said Haley, closing out her speech.
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