Whereas Nikki Haley has, till not too long ago, run a reasonably constructive marketing campaign, she has endured relentless criticism from Donald J. Trump and others in his orbit. Her 22-year-old son, Nalin Haley, shouldn’t be so inclined to tug his punches.
Mr. Haley, who has grow to be a extra acquainted presence on the path along with his mom, launched her at occasions over the weekend, taking some pointed jabs at her onetime Republican rivals.
He has a nickname for Senator Tim Scott: Senator Judas. One other former rival who went full-bore for Mr. Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, attracts Mr. Haley’s comparisons (derogatory) to Pennywise, the clown from “It.”
Ms. Haley, for her half, has been deferential: At one occasion she ran via “thanks’s” for the opposite audio system earlier than jokingly saying, “Nalin, I’ll take care of you later.”
On Saturday, whereas introducing his mom in Gilbert, S.C., he acknowledged that he was in “the state that raised me,” and “the state that took an opportunity on my mother.” The present second, he mentioned, was “like historical past repeating itself — it seems like 2004, 2010, the place the institution is up in opposition to her,” he mentioned.
Then, he bought private.
“We had numerous them go as much as New Hampshire, and I noticed Trump standing aspect by aspect, he was subsequent to Senator Judas — excuse me, Senator Scott,” he mentioned to “oohs” from the viewers. “Ouch,” somebody within the crowd mentioned.
(Ms. Haley appointed Mr. Scott to the Senate in 2012 when she was governor of South Carolina, and Mr. Scott is now a key surrogate of their residence state for Mr. Trump.)
Whereas Mr. Scott has not responded to the jab, Nathan Model, a spokesman for the senator, mentioned, “You’d by no means hear Ms. Frances or anybody from the Scott household speak like that,” referring to Mr. Scott’s mom, Frances Scott.
Within the early months of his mom’s marketing campaign, Mr. Haley was comparatively impartial, largely re-sharing posts from or constructive commentary in regards to the Haley marketing campaign. Occasionally, he joined her on the path, playing games on the Iowa State Truthful and attending debates.
However his tone notably shifted after the third debate, when Mr. Ramaswamy, the tech entrepreneur, who was nonetheless within the race on the time, talked about Ms. Haley’s daughter on the talk stage as a way of criticizing Ms. Haley’s stance on TikTok.
“Vivague Ramaslimey backpedaling greater than his receding hairline,” Mr. Haley wrote on X, reposting a remark that known as Mr. Ramaswamy’s remarks “despicable.”
Shortly after, Mr. Haley went additional: He posted a picture of Mr. Ramaswamy subsequent to a picture of Pennywise, alongside the caption, “Somebody assist me spot the distinction I’m having bother.”
Onstage on Tuesday in Summerville, S.C., he revisited these feedback. “My mother had a chat with me, and I used to be like, you realize what? I really feel terrible, and I want to take this opportunity to apologize to Pennywise,” he mentioned. “As a result of Pennywise is rather a lot much less creepy, rather a lot much less of a clown, and he has a significantly better hairline than he does.”
A spokeswoman for Mr. Ramaswamy, Tricia McLaughlin, responding to the insults, mentioned, “Normally of marketing campaign banter, I give credit score the place credit score’s due, however on this case, I hope he can develop his trash-talking arsenal to incorporate one thing that’s mildly humorous.”
In comparison with her rivals, to not point out the troll military supporting Mr. Trump, Ms. Haley’s web operation has been rudimentary. She has been important of social media platforms — at one level calling for all social media accounts to “be verified, by their identify” — and has caught to conventional outreach: posting pictures of her occasions and infrequently videotaping “get out and vote” asks.
However Mr. Haley, a senior at Villanova College, has been recreation to have interaction, hitting again at her rivals on social media platforms with memes and quips.
In December, whereas Ms. Haley typically sparred with Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, Mr. Haley wrote on X that Mr. DeSantis “needs to be Trump so dangerous it’s embarrassing.”
And in January, he responded to a lengthy post from Mr. Trump, which declared that anybody who supported Ms. Haley can be “completely barred from the MAGA camp,” saying, “In that case, he must be ‘barred from MAGA’ cuz he’s been our greatest fund-raiser but with this put up!”
His lighthearted remarks on the stump transcend insults. In Gilbert, he recalled how Ms. Haley, throughout her run for governor, used to supply him and his sister 1 / 4 for each hand they shook. “Fourteen years later, I’m again — not as a result of I’m getting paid, as a result of I’m not, however as a result of we’ve critical issues on this nation,” he mentioned.
Ms. Haley has praised her grownup youngsters’s presence on the path together with her, telling reporters in Elgin, S.C., that together with her husband deployed abroad, “they are surely attempting to step up the place they will, and I’m proud.”
Ms. Haley’s marketing campaign declined to rearrange for Mr. Haley to take part in an interview.
However in January, after serving to acquire Iowa caucus registration playing cards, he informed The New York Instances that his mom had at all times let him and his sister take part in her campaigns as typically as they needed. He mentioned she was conscious they had been within the public highlight and needed them “to have as regular a life as attainable.”
“She has at all times been a mother first,” he mentioned.
Jazmine Ulloa contributed reporting.
