Here's What Nikki Haley Said After Trump's Campaign Sent a Birdcage and Bird Food to Her Hotel Room

Nikki Haley said that Donald Trump's campaign had sent a birdcage to her hotel room along with a message reading "From: Trump Campaign." Haley posted a picture of the birdcage on Twitter and wrote, "After a day of campaigning, this is the message waiting for me outside my hotel room... #PrettyPatheticTryAgain #YouJustMadeMyCaseForMe." The birdcage alludes to a pair of Truth Social postings in which Trump referred to his former U.N. ambassador as a "birdbrain."

In a post, Trump attacked Haley for her past support of him, claiming that he knew quite well that her remarks meant nothing. He wrote, "She even came to Mar-a-Lago with her family, ‘bearing gifts,' Anyway, Birdbrain doesn’t have the TALENT or TEMPERAMENT to do the job. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Haley replied with another tweet, "Love this. It means we are in 2nd and moving up fast." The Messenger's Marc Caputo claims to have proof from Trump's campaign that the statement originated from them. Caputo shared, "At 1:30 am, the Trump camp texted me the birdcage-and-feed photo in front of Haley’s Des Moines hotel door." In a following post, he remarked, "Some folks are feeling conspiratorial today."

The ex-president issued his own "report card" on the Truth Social, saying, in part, "Watched Debate = REPORT CARD: Doug Burgum did a very good job, solid & smart! Sloppy Chris Christie was a DISASTER, A TRUMP DERANGED LUNATIC! Nikki "Birdbrain" Haley was exposed for her caustic DISLOYALTY & LIES about the Republican Party, and me. Doesn't have what it takes, NEVER DID!" He came back to Truth Social last Friday and continued his insults, "MAGA, or I, will never go for Birdbrain Nikki Haley. No loyalty, plenty of lies! 'I will never run against our great President,' she said, 'he has done an outstanding job.'"

An exclusive survey finds that Donald Trump still has a sizable lead in the crucial New Hampshire primary, but that former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley is quickly rising to become his major rival there. Despite Trump's continued dominance and the backing of almost half of GOP voters, Haley's recent victory against DeSantis reflects the efforts of non-Trump candidates to rally the other half of the electorate.

According to a study conducted by USA Today, the Boston Globe, and Suffolk University among probable voters in the first Republican primary in the country, Trump has 49% support compared to Haley's 19%. Even though the 30-point margin is intimidating, she is now ahead of former frontrunner and current governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis. The two Republican debates Haley has participated in have been quite successful for her campaign. She had never gotten more than 6% in any of the eleven public polls done in New Hampshire in the six months before the first debate in August. She has reached a new peak in the USA TODAY poll.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on October 4, 2023. It has since been updated.