Seth Meyers reveals the real reason Nikki Haley wants Secret Service protection

Ms Haley said she had applied for Secret Service protection due to ongoing threats of violence against her

On Tuesday’s Late Night, host Seth Meyers mocked Nikki Haley for requesting Secret Service protection.

“Presidential candidate Nikki Haley said yesterday that she’s requested Secret Service protection, because then at least there will be a couple of people at her rallies,” he joked.

Mr Meyers was then met with groans and laughter from the audience.

Ms Haley told The Wall Street Journal on Monday afternoon that she had officially applied for Secret Service protection due to ongoing threats of violence against her.

“We’ve had multiple issues,” Ms Haley told the Journal after a campaign event in South Carolina. “It’s not going to stop me from doing what I need to do.”

Ms Haley recently revealed that police were called to her house on two occasions after so-called ‘swatters’ made false reports of violence.

Seth Meyers mocked Nikki Haley for requesting Secret Service protection (Late Night with Seth Meyers)

Swatting is when a caller makes a police report for a residence that is not their own, claiming that a violent crime is being committed at the location. Police – sometimes SWAT units, hence the name – then rush to and into the home, often with guns drawn, to address the report.

Cases have surged over the past two months, according to Reuters, targeting both allies and rivals of former president Donald Trump as his re-election campaign gets rolling in earnest.

Last month, a California teenager was arrested for allegedly running a swatting-for-hire service that prosecutors say facilitated “hundreds of swatting and bomb-threat incidents” throughout the US.

It comes amid rising threats to lawmakers, with more than 8,000 cases reported to Capitol Police last year, an increase of about 500 cases from the previous year.

USCP said both Democratic and Republican members of Congress “receive a wide range of threats and concerning statements that are sent through the mail, email, telephone, and social media/the internet”, with threats typically increasing in election years.

Ms Haley and Mr Trump are the final candidates left in the GOP presidential primaries, with the former president emerging as the clear frontrunner.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign rally (Getty)

Mr Trump has already beaten Ms Haley in primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire and has since stepped up pressure on his rival to drop out of the race, labelling her as an “imposter” who is still “hanging around” despite her losses.

However, Ms Haley has so far refused to give in to pressure, vowing to stay in the race.

At a news conference last week, Ms Haley discussed the threats against her amid her presidential run, telling reporters that, while it was clear she needed to “put a few more bodies around” her and her family, politicians facing threats was “just the reality” of modern political campaigning.

“At the end of the day, we’re going to go out there and touch every hand, we’re going to answer every question, we’re going to make sure that we are there and doing everything that we need to,” she said.