Compare Haley to Clinton: Pro-DeSantis Super PAC attacks fall short

In Republican politics, comparing yourself to a prominent Democrat like Hillary Clinton can be one of the biggest insults.

Some Republican presidential hopefuls and their allies are using the comparison to denounce Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, who has gained popularity in the primaries. During the Republican debate in Alabama on Wednesday, for example, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy criticized Ms. Haley for making “foreign multinational speeches like Hillary Clinton.”

But supporters of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in particular have exploited this line of attack, including in ads from a pro-DeSantis super PAC, Fight Right. But the ads that attempt to link Ms. Haley to Mrs. Clinton, the former secretary of state, make claims that are misleading.

Here’s a fact-check of some of these claims.

WHAT WAS SAID

“We know her as Crooked Hillary, but for Nikki Haley, she is her role model, the reason she ran for office.”
– Fight right in an advertisement

This is misleading. Ms. Haley has said it several times over the years, including in a 2012 interview with The New York Times – that Mrs. Clinton inspired her to run for office. A speech by Mrs. Clinton, in which she discussed the importance of women in public office, was a particularly motivating force. But Ms. Haley has also highlighted their policy differences, which are left out in the ad, and spoke out against the prospect of Mrs. Clinton winning the presidency in 2016.

The ad at one point shows Ms. Haley saying, “I often say the reason I got into politics was because of Hillary Clinton.”

But the ad omits the criticism of Mrs. Clinton that Ms. Haley included in that comment, which comes from a July 2020 interview with American University’s Women & Politics Institute.

Asked for her thoughts on the women running for president in the 2020 Democratic primaries and views on their electability, Ms. Haley said, “I think we had some strong women running for office. And I respect any man or woman who puts their hat in the ring. I really respect all the women who put their hat in the ring.”

She continued, “You know, I often say that the reason I got into politics — believe it or not, I don’t agree with what she has to say — but it was because of Hillary Clinton.”

Mrs. Haley then referred to a speech Mrs. Clinton gave in 2003 at Furman University, in Greenville, SC

“She was the one who said that for all the reasons people tell you not to run, these are the reasons you should. And I walked out of there and decided to run to the statehouse,” Ms. Haley said.

Mrs. Haley was chosen to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2004.

WHAT WAS SAID

“Haley raised taxes like Hillary.”
— Fight right in an advertisement

This is misleading. The ad quotes a bill that South Carolina lawmakers came up with In 2006, a law was passed that increased state taxes by one percentage point. But that measure also exempted owner-occupiers from paying property taxes for schools, among other things. Mrs. Haley was co-sponsored the legislation.

The legislation was described by experts as a “tax swap,” and an analysis at the time predicted that most homeowners would do so would result in a lower tax burden overall.

“This was a tax swap, not a tax increase,” said Jared Walczak, the vice president of state projects at the Tax Foundation, a right-wing think tank. “It’s fair to wonder whether the trade-off was a good one, especially the policy of exempting homeowners from school property taxes while keeping them on commercial real estate, including rental properties. But it is incorrect to label the legislation as a tax increase.”

Tax overhaul measures often include raising revenues in one area to pay for cuts elsewhere, Mr. Walczak said in an email. “If the net effect is revenue neutral or a reduction in collections, such policies are generally not viewed as raising taxes.”

He added: “Such a definition would allow significant tax cuts, including the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed during the Trump administration, to be characterized as raising taxes.”

The Fight Right ad also quotes an article from Fox Business in the fall about Ms. Haley and South Carolina’s gas tax — the subject of misleading claims by another pro-DeSantis super PAC. Ms. Haley did not raise the gas tax as governor. She resisted calls to raise the gas tax as a standalone measure, but suggested raising the tax only if the state also lowered the state income tax rate from 7 to 5 percent, and made changes to the Transportation Department the state.

Fight Right did not respond to requests for comment.

WHAT WAS SAID

Nikki Haley “supports open borders like Hillary.”
– Fight right in an advertisement

This is wrong. There is no evidence that Ms. Haley supports “open borders.” She has even repeatedly called on the United States to close its southern border.

In April, Mrs. Haley posted a video on social media during a visit to the southern border, criticizing chain-link fencing as inadequate.

“We have to finish what we started, whether it’s this or this — we need something,” Ms. Haley said, pointing to a section of the wall that she said was built under the Trump administration, as well as a high fence. “But a mesh fence won’t stop anyone and that’s why we see so many illegal immigrants coming through.”

During her campaign for the Republican nomination, Ms. Haley has proposed reforming the immigration system to allow people into the country legally based on merit, rather than quotas.

“When it comes to legal immigration, it’s a broken system – it shouldn’t take 10 years for someone to become a citizen,” Ms Haley said. said last month in New Hampshire. “But what we need to do is reform it.”

“So for too long, Republican and Democratic presidents have addressed immigration on a quota basis,” she said. “This year we’ll take X number, next year we’ll take X number. The discussion is about the number. It’s the wrong way to look at it. We have to do it based on merit. We need to go to our industries and say, what do you need that you don’t have? So think agriculture, think tourism, think technology. We want the talent that will make us better.”

Curious about the accuracy of a claim? Email factcheck@nytimes.com.