Nikki Haley misnames Iowa basketball player at Hawkeyes event

Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley dropped the ball Saturday in the Hawkeye State, confusing all-world University of Iowa basketball player Caitlin Clark — with CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins.

Ahead of the Lady Hawkeyes game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Hailey tried to heap praise on the No. 4-ranked team at a tailgating event in Coralville — but ended up mistakenly referring to point guard Clark as Collins. 

“What a team they are. What a great coach,” Haley said, according to an X post by Gazette reporter Tom Barton. 

“Kaitlan Collins is phenomenal,” she gushed. 

Collins was quick to chime in on X about the former South Carolina governor’s mix-up. 

“I can assure you her free-throw percentage is much better than mine,” the CNN anchor wrote of Clark.

Haley’s Iowa appearance comes ahead of the state’s Republican presidential caucus on Jan. 15, with other candidates rushing to squeeze in campaign stops in an effort to boost their performance next month. 

Haley currently is polling third in Iowa, with just 16.1%, trailing former President Donald Trump, at 51.3%, and Ron DeSantis, with 18.6%, according to RealClearPolitics poll average. 

Saturday’s gaffe came just days after Haley was pilloried for her comments at a town hall in New Hampshire, where she failed to mention slavery as the primary cause of the Civil War.  

Haley’s team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.