Newsmax's Greg Kelly argues Donald Trump intentionally confused the names of Nancy Pelosi and Nikki Haley

Kelly: “Could have been just confusing the names, but I have a feeling he was up to something else, something a lot more sophisticated.”

Video file

Citation From the January 22, 2024, edition of Newsmax's Greg Kelly Reports

GREG KELLY (HOST): All right, you're about to see the fake news version of the worst flub in the world. Now they know it's not the worst flub. It's not the worst gaffe. But they say Trump made it, so it must be really, really bad. I don't think it is that bad and, actually, might even be great, as in it's not a gaffe. Might have been exactly what he wanted to say when he seemed to say Nikki Haley when he meant Nancy Pelosi. Take a look.

...

KELLY: All right, let's pretend for a moment – and I don't think this is the case – that he made a genuine mistake here, that this was a gaffe. Tired or whatever, sure, right? Campaigning, having to defend himself in crazy trials all over the place. And let's look at the names for a second. Nancy Pelosi and Nikki Haley. All right, they both start with n's. They both end in vowels, both the first name and the last name. The names arguably are rather similar. OK? But I think he actually meant to say Nikki Haley. He said it on purpose, and the fake news fell for it.

...

KELLY: All right. But here's the deal — they all had to say later in their reports that it was Nancy Pelosi who was offered the 10,000 troops. It was Nancy Pelosi who was actually charged with security. So that, in a way, affected the message that he wanted out there – because when he says Nancy Pelosi was in charge of security, nobody pays any attention. But when he says Nikki Haley is – and he said Nikki Haley three times – I don't know. What do you think? It's kind of like when he said, we're gonna build a wall and Mexico is going to pay for it.

...

KELLY: So, he repeated that, as you know, all throughout the country. And when he said Mexico is going to pay for it, suddenly that became the debatable part. Is Mexico? How could that ever work? People weren't debating the wall part. He's actually advancing his argument. And guess what? He got a lot of the wall done. And if they didn't try to sabotage his administration, I think he could have finished it and he'll finish it next time. Look, could have been just confusing the names, but I have a feeling he was up to something else, something a lot more sophisticated.