As former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley enters the homestretch of the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary, she’s counting on a reality TV show star to give her campaign a boost.
Judge Judy Sheindlin, who stars on TV as Judge Judy, will join Haley at a Sunday rally in Exeter, New Hampshire, according to Deadline.
The endorsement is a rare venture into politics for Sheindlin, who backed former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg for president in 2020 but has otherwise stayed away from political endorsements.
The Real Clear Politics average of polls for Tuesday’s New Hampshire Republican primary shows former President Donald Trump at 50.3 percent support, Haley at 35.3 percent and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 6.3 percent. The website FiveThirtyEight has the race slightly closer in its average, putting Trump at 48.9 percent, Haley at 34.2 percent and DeSantis at 5.2 percent.
Hard truths from Judge Judy 🥩 pic.twitter.com/TMQR5oGCmg
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) January 18, 2024
Sheindlin offered her support for Haley in an Op-Ed in the Daily Mail.
“Nikki Haley is the only candidate in the 2024 race with true executive gravitas,” she wrote, saying Trump is not what the nation needs.
“As for Joe Biden, I’ve never seen greatness or anything close to it in his 53-year political career,” she wrote.
“Just consider the last three years. He’s actively encouraged illegal immigration — leaving states, cities, and towns in chaos and on the brink of financial disaster. We need strong national leadership to bring this nightmare to an end. At home, Americans are struggling with punishing inflation, a housing crisis, and a palpable fear that our best days as a nation are behind us,” she wrote.
Do you support Nikki Haley?
“Abroad, we’re embroiled in horrific military conflicts that we could and should have prevented. Do you really believe Biden has the focus and drive to solve any of these problems? He created them in the first place!” she wrote.
Sheindlin said Haley has experience and competence.
“Neither Biden nor Trump would know a Houthi from a salami unless someone whispered in their ear or spelled it out for them on a teleprompter. We need a president like Haley who knows what’s happening — because that’s essential to knowing how to respond,” she wrote.
Sheindlin addressed the issue of age. At 51, she is younger than either Trump, who is 77, or Biden, who is 81.
“Let’s be honest here: I am 81 years old, and I run a successful business. I am considered the matriarch of a family of twenty. I work out every day and have an active social life. Do I have strong opinions about the world we live in? You bet I do. But I would never have the chutzpah to tell you that I have the same stamina I had a decade ago, and surely not two decades ago. There’s plenty you can do in your 80s. Being President isn’t on the list,” she wrote.
“So don’t let Trump and Biden fool you. Neither of these men are up to the job and its relentless demands. Neither has the energy — let alone the vision — to bring us together and end the political wars that have torn us apart,” she wrote.
On Friday, Trump rolled out a major endorsement of his own from Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, according to CBS.
“We need Donald Trump,” Scott said at an event in which he appeared with Trump “We need a president who will unite our country.
“We need a president who understands the American people are sick and tired of being sick and tired. We need a president our foreign emissaries are afraid of and our allies respect,” Scott said.
