The editorial board of the New York Post dissed former President Trump after he attacked Nikki Haley, his former Ambassador to the United Nations and one of the candidates who is challenging him for the Republican nomination for president.
"Say what you will about the Donald’s third run at the presidency, but the guy’s losing his once-fearsome nicknaming powers," the Post wrote in an editorial published Monday. "Sure, we first saw decline with Trump’s lame 'Meatball Ron' and tin-eared 'DeSanctimonious' jabs at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But the peeved-grandma tone of 'Birdbrain' proves he’s slipping."
In a post on his Truth Social platform over the weekend, Trump blasted Haley, saying she previously vowed to never challenge him for the GOP nomination.
"Anyway, Birdbrain doesn’t have the TALENT or TEMPERAMENT to do the job. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote.
The Post defended Haley, calling her "calm and effective, with a sound grasp of policy."
"She was at least arguably the winner of the first two GOP debates, no easy task for a woman dealing with a pack of shouting men," the newspaper argued. "That’s why the more GOP voters see of her, the more they like her."
Haley's campaign separately accused the Trump campaign of sending a birdcage and bird food to a hotel room she was staying in after the former president made the comments about her.
The Post is one of the national outlets owned by billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who Trump has been publicly feuding with for months.
The clear front-runner in most GOP primary polls, Trump has not participated in the first two GOP debates, and his campaign has called on the Republican National Committee to stop hosting candidate forums and rally around him as the nominee.
