Nikki Haley calls for all Trump legal cases to be 'dealt with' before November
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said that all of former President Donald Trump's legal cases should be "dealt with" before the presidential election.
"I think all of the cases should be dealt with before November," she said Thursday in an interview with NBC News’ "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker in Falls Church, Virginia, where voters will cast their primary ballots Tuesday.
"We need to know what's going to happen before it, before the presidency happens, because after that, should he become president, I don't think any of it's going to get heard," she continued.
Haley spoke a day after the Supreme Court agreed to decide whether Trump could claim presidential immunity in response to criminal charges. It could take months for the high court to reach a decision, pushing back the potential timeline for his election interference trial.
“I just think a president has to live according to the laws, too. You don’t get complete immunity,” she said, addressing the Supreme Court's decision to take the case. She added that presidents should not get “free rein to do whatever they want to do.”
Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, also swiped at Trump, as well as President Joe Biden, in her reaction to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s announcement Wednesday that he would step down as the GOP head in the Senate later this year.
"I really commend him for realizing that we need a new generational leader. I wish that our presidential candidates would do the same thing," she said, reiterating her frequent criticism about Biden's and Trump's ages.
Haley also criticized the two party front-runners for issues at the southern border, arguing that "both of these men are responsible" and calling Thursday's dueling visits in Texas "comical."
Haley, who has yet to win a state primary or caucus, said she was "excited" ahead of Super Tuesday next week, when 874 Republican delegates are at stake.
Pressed by Welker about whether she is confident she can win a Super Tuesday state, Haley did not directly answer, responding instead to a separate question about what she would tell voters before they cast their ballots.
"I remind them that in a general election, you're given a choice, but in a primary, you make your choice," she said. "This is a chance for them to make their choice."
Asked separately about whether she saw Super Tuesday as her "last stand," she said she is looking instead for a "good, competitive showing."
"You keep going to make sure people have a choice," she said. "That's what this is all about."
Republican voters in 16 Super Tuesday states and American Samoa will cast their votes for the GOP presidential nominee next week. A candidate must win at least 1,215 delegates to clinch the Republican nomination.
