Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno of Ohio is facing criticism after making comments last week that were insulting to women who support abortion rights, including former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, one of the party’s most prominent women.
Speaking at a rally in Warren County, Ohio, on Friday, Moreno characterized many suburban women as “single-issue voters” on abortion rights and suggested older women shouldn’t be concerned about abortion because they’re too old to have children.
“And by the way, this is kind of funny, especially for women over 50,” Moreno said, drawing laughter from the audience. “Here’s what I’m thinking: For you guys, this isn’t an issue.”
Haley, a former South Carolina governor, quoted Moreno in a social media post on Tuesday morning, telling the Senate candidate, “Are you trying to lose the election? Just asking a friend.”
Haley was former President Donald J. Trump’s main rival in this year’s Republican presidential primary and has supported his candidacy while offering advice and criticism to Trump and the Republican Party from the sidelines.
Haley said in an interview with Fox News that the party needs to make a “serious shift” to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris, and said this month that Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, “need to change the way we talk about women.”
“There’s no need to call Kamala an idiot,” Haley said. “It’s not a fluke that she got to where she is.” She added, “She’s a prosecutor. We don’t need to talk about her intelligence or her looks or anything like that.”
She added, “When even Democrat women are called stupid, Republican women also push back.”
