Trump mocks Haley for absence of her military husband; she hits back

Washington: Former US president Donald Trump has mocked his Republican rival Nikki Haley over the absence of her husband, who is deployed overseas, drawing a sharp reaction from the Indian-American politician who said the person who disrespects military families has no business being commander-in-chief.

Haley’s husband Major Michael Haley, a commissioned officer with the South Carolina National Guard, is currently on a year-long deployment with the 218th Maneuver Enhancement Bridge, which is providing support in the Horn of Africa. He deployed in June.

The war of words between two Republican presidential candidates started with a Trump rally on Saturday in South Carolina where the 77-year-old former president, seemingly unaware of his deployment, when started questioning his whereabouts

“Where’s her husband? Oh, he’s away. What happened to her husband? Where is he? He’s gone,” Trump said at his rally in Conway in South Carolina, his first visit to the state this year. Haley, 52, the only candidate against Trump in the Republican Party’s nomination race, fired back at Trump’s comments later on Saturday.