Nikki Haley slams Trump's NATO comments and defends her husband against his attacks.

Nikki Haley condemned former President Donald J. Trump on Sunday for suggesting he might not defend NATO allies and might even encourage Russia to attack them if he is re-elected.

“Don't side with a criminal who kills his opponents,” Ms. Haley said on CBS's “Face the Nation.” “Don't side with someone who invaded and invaded a country, and half a million people died or were injured by Putin. Don't side with someone who keeps lying. I dealt with Russia every day. The last thing we ever want is to side with Russia.”

Ms. Haley was responding to comments Mr. Trump made at a meeting on Saturday evening, when he recounted a conversation with a foreign leader during his presidency in which he said he might not defend a NATO country from a Russian attack if the country “overdue” with regard to the financing of the alliance. “No, I wouldn't protect you,” Trump said. “Actually, I would encourage them to do whatever they want.”

Although there were disagreements during the Trump administration over some European countries' spending obligations on their own militaries, the alliance was not to blame.

When the CBS show's host, Margaret Brennan, asked whether Ms. Haley would “stick to the premise that an attack on one is an attack on all” if she were elected president, Ms. Haley said, “Absolutely.”

“We want NATO allies to do their part, but there are ways you can do that without sitting there and saying to Russia, 'Have your way with these countries,'” she said. “If you notice, Russia has never invaded a NATO country. They invaded Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. They are actually very intimidated by NATO. NATO allows us to prevent war.”

At his rally on Saturday, Mr. Trump also directly insulted Ms. Haley, suggesting that her husband, Michael Haley, an Army National Guard major deployed to Djibouti, had left the country to be away from her.

“This is not personal about me and Michael,” Ms. Haley said in the interview Sunday. “This is about what it says to every member who sacrifices for us. This is about what it says to every military family who sacrifices along with them. We can't have someone sitting there and mocking our men and women who are trying to protect America.”

Ms. Brennan noted that during his 2016 campaign, Mr. Trump mocked Senator John McCain for having been a prisoner of war and insulted the parents of a soldier who died in combat, but Ms. Haley nevertheless agreed to speak for him to work as ambassador to the armed forces. United Nations.

“I agreed to serve our country, and I am proud to serve our country,” Ms. Haley responded.

Trump's comments about NATO also drew condemnation Sunday from former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was the most outspoken Trump critic in the Republican primaries until he ended his campaign last month.

“It's one thing, and I think it's right, for a president to say to a NATO member, 'Hey, you've got to pay the dues you've got to pay,'” Mr. Christie said on NBC's “Meet the Press.” ” “But the problem with Donald Trump is that he can't just stop there. He should say, 'I would encourage Russia to do whatever they wanted to you.' That is absolutely inappropriate for a president of the United States or a candidate for president of the United States to say, but it is consistent with his love for dictators.”