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Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley According to a person familiar with his thinking, he is expected to say that not enough Americans feel proud of their country and that it is time for a new generation of leadership to make his opening pitch for the Republican nomination for president. Makes
The former twice-elected governor of South Carolina, who turned 51 last month, launched his 2024 campaign on Tuesday Video And will appear at an event in Charleston on Wednesday before traveling to the early voting states of New Hampshire and Iowa in the coming days. His announcement could deal a blow to a slow-moving Republican primary campaign season, with many potential candidates hesitant to front-runners in the race for former President Donald Trump. Trump launched his third bid for the White House in November.
In her declaration speech, Haley “will lean into the idea that America is not racist, and that we should be proud of who we are as Americans. Generations have been taught to hate America. We need to renew our American pride and We need to stop apologizing for our founding values,” said a person familiar with Haley’s thinking, who requested anonymity to discuss the campaign.
asked how haley planned to As for approaching Trump as a GOP rival, the person said, “She’s running against Joe Biden.”
If successful in the primary, Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, would be the first woman and the first Asian American to be nominated for the presidency by the Republican Party. Haley was born as Nimrata Nikki Randhawa in Bamberg, South Carolina. Former president of the National Association of Women Business Owners, she was first elected to the South Carolina House in 2004. Six years later, she became the first woman elected as the state’s governor and was the youngest governor in the country when she took office. office in 2011. He resigned in the middle of his second term to become Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations – a role he held until late 2018.
Collins asks the legislator from Nikki Haley’s home district if she will endorse him. see her reaction
“The Washington establishment has failed us time and time again. It is time for a new generation of leadership to rediscover financial responsibility, secure our border, and strengthen our country, our pride and our purpose,” Haley said in her announcement video on Tuesday.
GOP Representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina, who has been a Trump ally, on Wednesday endorsed Haley for the presidency in 2024 and said Republicans were looking for “new leadership with a new vision at the top of the ticket.” .
Norman has praised Trump in the past, arguing in 2016 that Trump was “exactly what the Republican Party needed” and that “the country is better off now for what President Trump did.” But Norman, who served with Haley in the South Carolina statehouse, argued it was time for a new chapter in the GOP.
“We are at a turning point, and I know that most Republicans are now looking for new leadership with a new vision at the top of the ticket. Nikki Haley has the right leadership qualities and commitment to take our country forward. There’s also no question of foresight,” Norman said.
Many who have known Haley for decades describe her as ambitious, disciplined, fiercely competitive and not afraid to make enemies. They point to her swift decision as governor to remove the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the Statehouse in 2015, after nine people were fatally shot at a historically black church in Charleston that His bold leadership was an example of style and ability. Take decisive action.
“She’s a strong prosecutor,” said state Representative Nathan Ballantyne, a longtime friend and colleague who started in the state legislature with Haley nearly 20 years ago. “He’s a pit bull when he sets his mind to it.”
Supporters hope that Haley will gain traction among Republican voters, who like Trump’s conservative policies but see his erratic behavior and political bomb-throwing. Haley is more polished and focused, her supporters argue, which could make her a more effective champion for conservative priorities.
Chip Felkel, a Republican strategist in South Carolina, said, “Her strength is that she can claim to be aligned with the policies that people like about the Trump administration, but she is not Donald Trump.”
Haley will face stiff competition in this lane from other potential GOP candidates such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who are said to be weighing the 2024 run, may also appeal to conservatives. Republicans are trying to turn the page on Trump. Some Republican strategists say a larger Republican primary field would be beneficial to Trump, who still enjoys significant support among the party’s base, and could split the vote, allowing the former president to run with the nomination. meets.
In South Carolina, many of those base supporters of the former president, including June Avinger, head of the Horry County Republican Women’s Club, remain firmly in his corner and Haley is unlikely to change.
“If Trump wasn’t running, I probably would have supported him. But not against Trump,” said Avinger, who wore a shirt with “Ultra MAGA” in bright red and blue letters to attend a Trump campaign event in South Carolina last month. Trump won the 2016 South Carolina primary. He won by 10 points, which helped him clinch the nomination among a crowded Republican field.
In the Trump administration, Haley seemed to be doing a balancing act of distancing herself from allying herself with Trump as well as appealing to her more moderate Republican critics. She left her post in the administration on good terms with Trump – a rare feat – but then publicly criticized him for his involvement in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. She told Politico at the time she didn’t think Trump had a future in the GOP, but then months later said she would not challenge Trump for the nomination if he ran for president in 2024. Haley later retracted that sentiment as she called for a new generation of leadership.
After Haley’s announcement, Trump said he told Haley, “She should follow her heart and do what she wants to do.” I wish her luck!”
While Trump said publicly on Tuesday that he wished Haley luck, he privately expressed anguish that the woman he once tapped to serve as his ambassador to the United Nations , She will challenge them. But Trump is most worried about another challenger: DeSantis. In recent weeks, Trump has asked several advisers about creating a new derogatory nickname for his potential opponent, privately suggesting that he consider DeSantis’ weight instead of referring to him as “Ron DeSanctimonious”. Let’s target.
How would Haley answer someone when asked attack from trump Or other potential Republican rivals, Ballantine said, “In the South, we say, ‘bless her heart’ or ‘bless her heart.’ That’s what she’ll do. She won’t blast them on Twitter or be a teenager.
Strategists say Haley could continue to highlight the age gap between herself and President Joe Biden, 80, and Trump, 76, especially as many Democrats worry privately whether Biden will be too old for reelection. Is. Haley often posts on social media about her long distance running. Headphones in and slightly out of breath, Haley talks on Instagram about what songs she listened to during the eight- or nine-mile run she just completed. (The former governor is a big fan of legendary rocker Joan Jett.)
“I think an important part of her message will be that she is a daughter of immigrants, a woman, young – all characteristics that compare positively to the old white male conception of the Republican Party,” Felkel said. Haley begins her announcement video by describing how “different” she felt growing up in South Carolina.
“The train tracks divided the city by race. I was the proud daughter of Indian immigrants. Not black, not white. I was different. But my mother always said your job was to focus on the similarities, not the differences. And my parents reminded me and my siblings every day how blessed we are to live in America,” Haley said.
But others close to Haley say that although she is clearly proud of her heritage, she has been reluctant throughout her political career to draw on her identity and background to make political points and convey her presidential message. wants to focus on her record as governor of South Carolina. and Ambassador to the United Nations.
Rob Godfrey, a top Haley aide, said, “I think you’ll see the governor less on identity politics and more on his record of results.”
Ballantine recalls one of her first campaign ads when she was running for governor.
“I was like, ‘Nikki, you’re not the minority there.’ And she was like, ‘Hello, what am I?’ I said, ‘People think you are a dark woman.’ But she doesn’t like to play that card,” Ballantyne said.
He continued, “I would always say to him at the Statehouse, ‘Okay, I’ll just play the chick card.’ She would say, ‘I’m not doing that, Nathan.’ She was more focused on the data, the numbers, which is why we need to do this. We don’t need to do this because it’s helping women, we need to do it because it’s the right thing to do. .