Haley’s Dilemma: How to Diminish Trump Without Alienating Republican Voters

Nikki Haley, searching for a message to dent Donald J. Trump’s appeal with Republican voters, took him to task on Sunday for the $83 million verdict for defaming a woman he was already liable for sexually assaulting, saying she “absolutely” trusted the jury’s judgment for the writer, E. Jean Carroll.

Her defense of the jury’s verdict went against Mr. Trump’s claims that the legal cases against him amounted to a conspiratorial attack by Democrats determined to stop his political comeback, not legitimate legal claims of malfeasance. But she stopped short of saying the New York civil verdict and award disqualified him from returning to the presidency, leaving that judgment to the voters.

Four weeks before what could be the decisive Republican primary in South Carolina, Ms. Haley is trying to navigate an extremely narrow and treacherous path, finding a way to diminish Mr. Trump’s hold on the party’s electorate without decisively turning conservative voters against her the way they have destroyed other Trump critics.

In her most recent campaign swings through South Carolina, she has continued to avoid dwelling on his legal troubles or criminal charges. But she has ratcheted up her criticism of his mental and physical agility, challenged him to debate her and argued he is spending more time in the courtroom than on the campaign trail.

“Donald Trump was totally unhinged — unhinged,” Ms. Haley said to cheers on Saturday in Mauldin, S.C., near Greenville, as she described moving up in the polls ahead of the New Hampshire primary. “He was a bit sensitive, and I think his feelings were hurt, but he threw a temper tantrum out onstage.”

Her jabs at him have endeared her to donors in both parties, swelling her coffers and keeping her in the race. But a string of different messages has so far done little to actually attract voters.