Nikki Haley has poked fun at her Republican rival Donald Trump by posting a picture to a spoof Halloween costume branding him as the “weakest general election candidate ever”.

       The former South Carolina governor posted the meme to X on Thursday, claiming that the former president would “hand Democrats a big victory” should he be selected to run.

       Ms Haley and Mr Trump are the two main remaining candidates hoping to scoop the GOP presidential nomination. Mr Trump has previously scooped several major victories in the polls.

       Ms Haley’s post on Thursday – a Fake Spirit Halloween Costumes meme – showed a smiling picture of Mr Trump.

       The name of the costume read “Weakest General Election Candidate Ever”, with the outfit claiming to include “$50 million in legal fees, terrible poll numbers, social media rants [and] temper tantrums”.

       “Not included” were a private jet and diet coke.

       Ms Haley wrote: “Democrats are ecstatic about the prospect of running against Donald Trump. They couldn’t dream up a worse general election candidate if they tried. Between his legal drama, his terrible poll numbers, and his confusion, Trump will hand Democrats a big victory.”

       National polling by FiveThirtyEight currently shows the former president dominating Ms Haley, commanding 72.2 per cent of the national GOP vote. Ms Haley currently has just 17.3 per cent, according to the site.

       Despite this Ms Haley has continued her attacks, going after both Mr Trump and President Joe Biden, capitalising on the lack of appetite for a rematch of the 2020 contest and characterising the 77 and 81-year-olds as “grumpy old men”.

       The former UN ambassador is now concentrating all of her campaigning efforts on her native South Carolina. The state GOP primary is set to take place on 24 February.