CNN's Jake Tapper criticized Democrats Tuesday for their targeted attacks on Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley based on her race.
"One of the things that's odd also, I don't want to make too big a deal out of it, but you see some people on the Left noting that Nikki is not her original first name, I think it's her middle name," Tapper said on "The Lead with Jake Tapper."
"And basically suggesting that she, I mean it's not true, and these are the same people who objected to whenever Republicans would say Barack Hussein Obama," he continued.
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"I mean, there is a very ugly side of the Left that comes out when Nikki Haley runs for office," he continued.
Nikki Haley announced her candidacy for president on February 15. She is one of three announced Republican candidates: the others being former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the GOP nomination, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy announced his candidacy Tuesday.
Haley has come under a barrage of personal attacks by many in the liberal media in recent weeks. CNN's Don Lemon was compelled to undergo training and faced public backlash after saying that Haley was past her prime as a woman at 51 years old.
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"The View's" Whoopi Goldberg echoed similar criticism of Haley.
Haley herself has made age an issue in the campaign, arguing that politicians over 75 should be forced to take a cognitive ability test in order to run for office. Such a standard would apply to both President Biden and Trump.
Haley appears to have a steep hill to climb to secure the Republican nomination. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted earlier this month, she is polling in fourth place at four percent, below Trump at 43 percent, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 31 percent. Former Vice President Mike Pence also polled ahead of Haley at seven percent.
