CPAC 2023: Nikki Haley takes subtle dig at Trump, courts GOP voters 'tired of losing'

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley took an implicit dig at former President Donald Trump, calling on GOP voters to end the party’s losing streak by throwing their support behind her in the primary election.

“We’ve lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections,” Haley said on Friday. “Our cause is right, but we have failed to win the confidence of a majority of Americans. That ends now. If you’re tired of losing, then put your trust in a new generation.”

The veiled criticism came during Haley’s speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, marking her first appearance at the annual event since the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations announced her presidential campaign last month.

Although Haley did not specifically name Trump in her remarks, the comments are among the closest she has gotten to criticizing her former boss as she paints herself as the GOP’s best bet to win the White House in 2024. Trump lost the popular vote in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.