Nikki Haley is moving closer to making her presidential campaign official.
On Wednesday, supporters of the former South Carolina governor will get an email invitation to a Feb. 15 launch event in Charleston, at which she plans to announce her campaign, according to a person familiar with the plans but not authorized to speak publicly about them.
News of Haley’s plans was first reported by The Post and Courier of Charleston.
Haley, 51, served as South Carolina’s governor for six years before serving as President Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations. When she enters the race, Haley will be the first contender to join the contest against her former boss, who is currently the sole Republican seeking his party’s 2024 nomination.
Trump was in South Carolina Saturday for the initial campaign swing of his 2024 campaign, standing alongside Gov. Henry McMaster — who served as Haley’s lieutenant governor — and several GOP members of the state’s delegation, part of his leadership team in the early-voting state.
During the Trump administration, Haley feuded at times with other White House officials while bolstering her own public persona. Her 2018 departure fueled speculation that she would challenge Trump in 2020, or replace Vice President Mike Pence on the ticket, but Haley did neither.
Instead, Haley returned to South Carolina, where she bought a home on Kiawah Island, joined the board of aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co. and launched herself on the speaking circuit, reportedly commanding fees as high as $200,000. She penned two books, a step commonly taken by many on the road toward the White House.
After the Jan. 6 Capitol siege, Haley initially cast doubts on Trump’s political future but said she wouldn’t challenge him in 2024.
In 2021, Haley told The Associated Press that she “would not run if President Trump ran,” but she has since shifted course, ramping up activity through her Stand for America nonprofit and political action committee, and endorsing dozens of candidates in the 2022 midterm elections.
Late last year, during a visit to her alma mater, Haley told an audience at Clemson University that she would be “taking the holidays” to consider a run.
Asked recently why she is now considering a run in spite of her 2021 comments, Haley told Fox News “a lot has changed,” referencing, among other things, U.S. economic troubles.
She went on to say she felt she could be part of “new generational change,” an indirect reference to Trump’s advanced age.
In South Carolina on Saturday, Trump told WIS-TV that Haley had called him several days earlier to seek his opinion. Trump pointed out her earlier pledge not to run against him but said he made no attempts to stop her.
“She said she would never run against me because I was the greatest president, but people change their opinions, and they change what’s in their hearts,” Trump said. “So I said, if your heart wants to do it, you have to go do it.”
(AP)
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14 Responses
She has incredibly strong “pro-Israel” credentials. In a CBN interview at the beginning of the Trump administration she clearly asserted that the ownership and control of the Har Habayis was not even open to discussion, contradicting the longstanding U.S. government policy and getting out ahead of other Trump officials who had not yet taken a formal position on the issue. As a follow up, she literally threatened other UN members that the U.S. would be “taking names” of those who dared to vote against the Trump administration’s moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Yerushalayim.
Nikki for President!!!!!
The GOP needs to dump Trump ASAP and put in Nikki!
never
“… before serving as President Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations.”
i’m sure you meant “america’s ambassador to the united nations”.
A woman should not be in office.
She’s a great lady. She is in agreement with our Torah Values more than most others on the political scene but we need President Trump to finish the job of draining the swamp. Only Donald Trump can complete this task properly.
I am so happy to hear this news. I’ve been hoping that she would run. Finally, a normal Republican political conservative with her head on straight. Haley 2024!!
WTG NIKKI!!! You have my vote!!! Your stand for Israel in the UN was incredible and so much appreciated. Wishing you all the very best!! Go for it!!
Jan 7 2021,
“President Trump has not always chosen the right words.”
“He was wrong with his words in Charlottesville, and I told him so at the time. He was badly wrong with his words yesterday.”
“And it wasn’t just his words. His actions since Election Day will be judged harshly by history.”
“If we are the party of personal responsibility, we need to take personal responsibility. We can and should talk about our major differences. But we must stop turning the American people against each other — and this Republican Party must lead the way.”
Feb 12 , 21
Nicki Haley, “We need to acknowledge he let us down. He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t let that ever happen again.”
Didn’t she say she would not run if Trump ran?
Nikki is a classic McCain/Romney backstabbing RINO. She will fold like a cheap camera the minute some black reporter from MSNBC or CNN calls her a racist. Haley can not be trusted.
Pompeo DeSantis 2024
She is a very traditional Reaganite Republican. She started out as a “Tea Party favorite” and one of Sarah Palin’s “Grizzly cubs”. She was critical of Trump, and then managed to ally with him and ended up as a major foreign policy player under Trump.
However to win the election, she’ll need to get Trump’s endorsement.
Now there is war about to happen and we need a lady on the army
Haley for President!
100%