Nikki Haley probably thought she was being clever as she gleefully tweeted out her critique of the Biden White House for the bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan. In particular she wanted to portray the Administration’s talks with the Taliban to smooth out the evacuation of U.S. citizens and allies as a sign of weakness by the current president. Here’s what she wrote:
The former UN Ambassador under Trump is fond of trying to emulate her former boss with big, tough pronouncements on social media. She’s also attempting some first-class gaslighting because she knows as well as anyone that it was Trump and his administration that first “dealt with the devil.”
Don’t take our word for it. There are lots of pictures and video evidence to prove this if by some chance you didn’t know about it. Here’s Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during negotiations with the Taliban to work out details of the U.S.’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. It should be noted that Afghan representatives were not present, even though it certainly was of importance to them.
Who is that next to Pompeo? Then-exiled Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who is set to rule over the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Haley is not stupid. She knows this. She is aware of this. In fact, Haley herself has bragged about how the Trump Administration’s negotiations with the Taliban “were working.”
But if there is one thing she learned while being in the Trump sphere the past few years, is dedicated shamelessness. Perhaps she doesn’t care that there is easily-found evidence to prove she’s lying. It’s not about facts, it’s about a ‘gotcha’ moment.
Her gaslighting attempts also clearly suggest she has little respect for the intelligence of anyone who supports her and her views. But even by MAGA standards, Haley’s lying in this instance are something else entirely.
As MSNBC’s Steve Benen writes:
Haley is eyeing a national campaign; and she's eager to exploit developments in Afghanistan with cheap shots that might resonate with her party's base.
But this is an instance in which Haley couldn't possibly believe her own rhetoric.