Haley warns Trump to downplay 'bromance' and 'masculinity' if he wants votes from women

Former Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley on Tuesday urged former President Donald Trump to scale back his "bromance and "masculinity" rhetoric in the last week of the presidential election, because he risks alienating female voters.

Haley, who challenged Trump for the Republican nomination earlier this year, previously urged the former president to keep his criticism about Vice President Kamala Harris on her policies instead of personal. Haley endorsed Trump this summer after she suspended her own presidential campaign.

The former South Carolina governor claimed it was not the time to be "overly masculine with this bromance thing," and slammed the former president for allowing a comedian to insult Puerto Ricans at a rally on Sunday. 

“This is not a time to have anyone criticize Puerto Rico or Latinos,” Haley said on Fox News. “This is not a time for them to get overly masculine with this bromance thing that they’ve got going. Fifty-three percent of the electorate are women. Women will vote. They care about how they’re being talked to, and they care about the issues."

Haley claimed there was "no reason" to allow a comedian to speak at the rally so close to the election, and claimed the moment was "harmful" to Trump's campaign. The comment comes after insult comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's joked that Puerto Rico is a "floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean." 

“I mean, Puerto Ricans, that’s personal for them. They take that personally," Haley said. "So, they were right to denounce the comedian, they need to go and tell Puerto Ricans how much they value them. They need to tell Latinos that.

"But they also need to look at how they’re talking about women," she reiterated. "I mean this bromance and this masculinity stuff. I mean, it borders on edgy to the point that it’s going to make women uncomfortable.” 

The warning comes as polls show Harris leading Trump among female voters, according to Business Insider, while Trump leads with men. Haley, who often focused on women when she ran for the GOP nomination, was expected to join Trump on the campaign trail, but has not appeared with him so far.

“They’re very aware that we’re on standby," Haley said of the Trump campaign. "They know that we would be there to help. I’ve helped with some fundraising letters and text messages and those types of things, so we’ve done that. It is their campaign’s decision on what he needs, and these last final days, it does not bother me at all.”

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.