'Nimbra': Donald Trump mocks Nikki Haley’s first name; she responds

Former United States president Donald Trump, eyeing a return to the presidency in the upcoming election later this year, on Friday (Jan 19) mocked presidential frontrunner Nikki Haley's first name. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump repeatedly referred to Haley as "Nimbra." Nikki Haley was born in the US to Indian immigrants. Her name is Nimarata Nikki Randhawa but she has always gone by her middle name "Nikki."

She took the surname “Haley” upon getting married in 1996.

Trump, himself the son, grandson, and twice the husband of immigrants, called Haley “Nimbra” three times in the post and said she “doesn’t have what it takes.”

Trump is not new to making racist remarks

This post by Trump on Truth Socialis the latest example of the 77-year-old Republican targeting his political rivals based on their race and ethnicity.

In 2016, Trump said that then-president Barack Obama wasborn in Kenya and was not a “natural born” US citizen as required by the Constitution. This remark was part of Trump's rise among Republicans’ most culturally conservative base ahead of his 2016 election

His verbal attack (on Nikki Haley) comes just days before the New Hampshire primary, in which Haley, the former South Carolina governor, is trying to establish herself as the only viable Trump alternative in the Republican nominating contest.

Earlier this month, Trump also said Haley was ineligible for the presidency because her parents were not American citizens when she was born in 1972.

'He's clearly insecure...': Haley responds

On being asked at a press conference on Friday about Trump's remarks, Haley told reporters, "I’ll let people decide what he means by his attacks."

“What we know is, look, he’s clearly insecure if he goes and does these temper tantrums if he’s spending millions of dollars on TV. He’s insecure, he knows that something’s wrong,” she added.

Also watch:Donald Trump mocks Nikki Haley’s first name

Since Monday's Iowa caucuses in which Trump emerged as the winner and Haley stood third, the former South Carolina governor has aimed to portray the rest of the GOP primary battle as a two-way race between Trump and herself.

Haley’s campaign is aiming for a stronger showing in New Hampshire, hoping for a springboard into her home state South Carolina- which will hold the presidential primary next month.

(With inputs from agencies)