Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s campaign took a Valentine’s Day dig at her chief GOP opponent, former President Trump, by highlighting his “love for … brutal dictators.”
Her campaign dished out a dozen satirical “love letters” Wednesday, showcasing past quotes from Trump about world leaders of countries that are considered U.S. adversaries.
“Happy Valentine’s Day from Donald Trump to dictators around the world,” the Haley campaign said in a statement. “Over the years, Trump has professed his love for the world’s most brutal dictators and praised their strength and leadership skills.”
Trump once famously described his communications with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Haley’s campaign captured that in a letter: “He wrote me beautiful letters, and they’re great letters. We fell in love.”
Another letter is directed from Trump to himself; it reads, “Roses are red. Violets are blue. I love dictators & they love me too.”
The Haley campaign also prepared one for China’s President Xi Jinping.
“He’s strong like granite, he’s strong, I know him very well, President Xi of China … what can I say: he runs 1.4 billion people with an iron hand,” the message from Trump directed to Xi said. It references a line Trump said during a rally in Iowa last year.
Haley’s campaign touched on Russia’s President Putin and his correspondence with Trump.
“I called President Putin of Russia to congratulate him on his election victory. The Fake News Media is crazed because they wanted me to excoriate him. They are wrong!”
In 2018, Trump called Putin to congratulate him on his election victory. Putin is widely expected to be reelected come March.
The former U.N. ambassador is trailing Trump ahead of the South Carolina primary on Feb. 24, down by 32.7 percentage points, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s latest aggregate of polls.