Nikki Haley Flubbing Basketballer Caitlin Clark’s Name Sparks Ridicule

Nikki Haley’s rough week on the campaign trail continued on Saturday when the 2024 GOP presidential hopeful flubbed the name of Caitlin Clark, the star for Iowa women’s basketball and one of the top players in the country.

At an appearance in Coralville, Iowa, Collins called her “Caitlin Collins,” perhaps confusing her with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

Haley said, “Caitlin Collins is phenomenal,” while campaigning before the fourth-ranked Hawkeyes’ game against Minnesota in Iowa City, which she attended.

Clark, a junior guard who has scored over 3,000 points in her career, is the presumptive No. 1 pick in April’s WNBA draft if she turns pro.

Haley’s second notable miscue this week was met with mockery on X, formerly Twitter.

“Unlike Haley, Caitlin Clark is great under pressure,” posted Jess Szymanski on X, Deputy Communications Director for Never Back Down, the super-PAC backing Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign.

“Mistaking Caitlin Clark with a CNN anchor at a Hawkeye Tailgate? That’s honestly a thousand times worse than mistaking Sioux City, IA for Sioux Falls, SD. ‘Hawkeye Haley’ is NOT ready for primetime,” said Dustin Grage, a Minnesota Republican.

CNN journalist Kaitlan Collins quipped, “I can assure you her free-throw percentage is much higher than mine,” in a tweet responding to Haley’s miscue.

Newsweek reached out to Haley’s campaign via email for comment.

The gaffe comes on the heels of Haley’s much-maligned comments Wednesday in New Hampshire regarding the cause of the Civil War.

Haley, in response to a voter’s question at a town hall, said “I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run. The freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do.”

She went on to say: “I mean, I think it always comes down to the role of government and what the rights of the people are. And I will always stand by the fact that I think government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people. It was never meant to be all things to all people. Government doesn’t need to tell you how to live your life. They don’t need to tell you what you can and can’t do. They don’t need to be a part of your life. They need to make sure that you have freedom.”

The voter who asked the question responded: “In the year 2023, it’s astonishing to me that you’d answer that question without mentioning the word slavery.”

Haley’s comments sparked fierce backlash, including from within her own party, and she later clarified: “Of course the Civil War was about slavery. We know that.”

Jim Messina, a campaign manager and White House Deputy Chief of Staff for former president Barack Obama, posted on X, “First, that absolutely stupid Civil War answer and now not knowing who Caitlin Clark is before attending a Hawkeye basketball game in Iowa City…what a week for Nikki Haley!!”

These New Hampshire and Iowa comments come as Haley has gained momentum in the GOP presidential race.

A Rasmussen Reports survey published this month showed she had replaced DeSantis as Donald Trump’s main challenger for the Republican nomination, with 13 percent of the vote to Trump’s 51 percent.

Iowans start the presidential nominating process with the Jan. 15 Republican caucuses. New Hampshire Republican primary voters will head to the polls on Jan. 23.