Nikki Haley compares her high heels to DeSantis’ ‘lifted’ boots and jokes ‘we’ll see if he can run in em’ in Daily Show interview with Charlamagne tha God

Nikki Haley is jumping on the bandwagon of critics going after Governor Ron DeSantis for allegedly wearing lifts in his shoes and donning cowboy boots to increase his height.

The 2024 hopeful and former ambassador to the United Nations said during an interview with the Daily Show that she wants to see how DeSantis does at next week’s debate in Miami while “walking in heels.”

Haley, the only woman to run in the Republican primary, joked that she “never” hid the fact that she wears high heels.

“Will you wear higher heels than Ron DeSantis at the debate next week so that you look taller than him on stage?” Daily Show guest host Charlamagne Tha God questioned Haley during an interview Wednesday night.

‘Don’t know. We’ll have to find out,” the presidential candidate from South Carolina responded about her rival.

“Let me tell you, I’ve always talked about my high heels,” Haley joked. ‘I never hid that from anyone. I’ve always said, ‘Don’t wear them if you can’t run in them,’ so we’ll see if he can run in them.”

Rumors are swirling on social media that Governor DeSantis is putting lifts in boots to appear taller. But the 2024 hopeful insists he wears ready-made shoes and is 5’11”

DeSantis’ team did not address Haley’s recent comments when reached by DailyMail.com.

The third Republican presidential primary debate will take place on Wednesday in DeSantis’ home turf of Miami, Florida.

Both DeSantis and Haley qualified for the debate by meeting voting and donor thresholds.

Other qualifiers include biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Donald Trump qualified as usual, but will not attend the primary debate.

Haley is rising in recent polls, closing the gap with DeSantis — who once held a certain second place with a wide lead over the rest of the public, but still dozens of points behind front-runner Donald Trump.

A new Iowa poll released this week shows Haley and DeSantis tied.

It comes as critics, including former President Trump, mount targeted attacks on DeSantis and mock rumors that he carries lifts in his boots.

DeSantis, who says he is 6 feet tall, has denied adding increases to his shoes, and has dismissed speculation that he wears boots to appear taller.

But the Florida governor’s oft-worn cowboy boots have become the focus of millions of Twitter views, sparked a frenzy on TikTok and prompted amateur sleuths to investigate.

On Monday, DeSantis told PBD Podcast host Patrick Bet-David that he wasn’t aware that people online were theorizing that he was wearing taller shoes.

Haley joked in her Daily Show interview that “we’ll find out” if she wears higher heels than DeSantis on the debate stage next week

Gov. DeSantis dons brown cowboy boots during a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC on Friday, October 27

He claimed that boots are his favorite and that they are “just basic, off-the-rack Lucchese.”

However, expert cobblers don’t believe DeSantis’ explanation and say they think the presidential candidate is wearing lifts.

Boot maker Zephan Parker of the Houston-based Parker Boot Company told Politico Magazine, “I’ve dealt with these politicians many times. I helped them with their lifts. (DeSantis) carries lifts; there is no doubt.’

Additionally, Austin-based shoemaker Graham Ebner said he also suspected DeSantis is wearing lifts.

“Three things stand out to me,” Ebner said, “the instep, the toe spring and where the ball of his foot sits in the boots.”

Augusta University political science professor Gregg Murray, who has studied physical components and how they relate to political preference, told DailyMail.com on Tuesday that “there is an instinctive preference for physically formidable leaders,” linked to wanting of strong allies during a conflict.

So DeSantis’ behavior — and that of Senator Marco Rubio before him — isn’t exactly surprising.

“There’s a long history of American politicians trying to look physically stronger, by wearing big-heeled shoes or standing on a box behind a debate stage, or at least trying to look physically healthier,” Murray said .

Senator Rubio, who ran for president during the 2016 Republican primaries, wore black boots with a heel that made him taller.

Trump, who first ran for president in 2016, nicknamed the 5’9″ lawmaker “Liddle Marco Rubio.”