Nikki Haley says focus on Trump court cases is ‘wasted energy’

Nikki Haley has said that she does not want to weigh in on Donald Trump’s multiple court cases and that analysing their effects on his presidential campaign would be “wasted energy”.

The former South Carolina governor and presidential hopeful said that it was up to the courts to decide whether Mr Trump deserved absolute immunity – which he is claiming he deserves – from the charges levelled against him.

The former president currently leads the GOP’s 2024 field in national opinion polls by a considerable margin, at 62.4 per cent, according to polling site FiveThirtyEight. At 10.9 per cent, Ms Haley sits in third place behind Ron DeSantis.

However, Ms Haley recently scored the backing of New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, which she described as a “huge” endorsement.

Speaking to ABC News about the endorsement, Ms Haley was asked about Mr Trump’s multiple criminal and civil cases and whether he should be granted “absolute immunity”.

“I’m gonna let the courts figure that out,” she said. “I mean, the last thing you’re gonna see me do is weigh in or learn the details about any of his court cases because I can’t follow 91 charges.

“I think the court issues are, do you have immunity when you’re president? When you’re not president? At what point does that line fall? I’m gonna let the judges decide that I don’t know where the line falls.”

She continued: “President Trump’s gonna have to defend himself, no matter what.

“If he’s found guilty, he’s found guilty. If he’s found innocent, he’s found innocent. It would be wasted energy for me to sit there and focus on court cases and not focus on how to win that room that we just left.

“I am not in a court case. I’m happy I don’t have to answer for that. So, let him answer it.”

Discussing the January 6 Capitol riots and Mr Trump’s alleged involvement, Ms Haley said that “tone at the top matters”, adding “at the end of the day, people want the truth.”

The US Supreme Court has agreed to expedite consideration of special counsel Jack Smith’s request for a decision on Mr Trump’s “immunity” claim in his election subversion case that the former president wants dismissed.