Since former President Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the Oval Office in November, speculation as to what other Republicans will fling their hat in the ring has been flying about. Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, and Tim Scott are top names, and many others have been mentioned in connection with a running mate for Trump.
One of those mentioned has now thrown her hat in the ring and the race is on. Nikki Haley officially announced through video on Tuesday morning that she is running for the Republican nomination for President in 2024. Haley is the former governor of South Carolina and served under President Trump as the United Ambassador to the United Nations. Haley was the first Indian American member of a presidential cabinet, serving as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. for nearly two years. “Get excited! Time for a new generation,’ Haley says in her first campaign video posted to Twitter. I’m Nikki Haley, and I’m running for president.”
Having previously announced that she had a big announcement, Haley will hold her first official campaign event in Charleston on Wednesday and enters the race as an underdog – with Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis leading in Republican polls. By announcing her candidacy so early, Haley could have a crack at building support early in some states key to clinching a nomination, like Iowa, New Hampshire, and her home state of South Carolina – all early primary contest states, Daily Mail reported. Haley could even see challenges from within her own state as South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, who is the only black Republican in the upper chamber, considers a bid of his own.
Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, is married to William Michael Haley who is a commissioned officer in the South Carolina Army National Guard. The two share a daughter, Rena, who is soon to be married, and a son Nalin. Haley grew up in the small Lowcountry town of Bamberg, South Carolina, and became the first woman and person of Asian heritage to serve as governor of the state.
The former South Carolina governor, 51, discusses growing up in a racially-segregated town in the video and says: “I was the proud daughter of Indian immigrants — not black, not white. I was different.” Haley would be the first American of Asian descent on the GOP ticket for the Presidency.
She denounced the idea that America is inherently ‘wrong’ or ‘racist’ because of its history. “Some look at our past as evidence that America’s founding principles are bad,” Haley noted. “They say the promise of freedom is just made up. Some think our ideas are not just wrong, but racist and evil. Nothing could be further from the truth. Even on our worst day, we are blessed to live in America,” she added.
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Former President Trump recently held a kick-off rally in South Carolina, and though Haley did not attend his event, the two spoke just prior. Haley then told Trump she was considering a run for the GOP presidential nomination. Trump reportedly replied, “I think you should do it.”
Polls still have Trump in the lead over other Republicans. Trump has posted that Biden and RINOs are trying to “damage” him through legal battles so he doesn’t win a second term in the White House, but wanted it would not work, Daily Mail noted.
“Doing great in poll numbers,” Trump lauded in his Truth post. “Leading all Republicans by a lot, also leading Biden by a very wide margin, which means that our weaponized Injustice Department, local D.A.’s, and Attorney Generals, will step up their illegal and unprecedented attacks in order to disparage me with false ‘bull….’ and statements in the hope that I will be damaged enough to allow a RINO, or Biden, to ‘slip through the cracks.” “But be careful,” he warned, “the American people get it, and don’t like what they are seeing. MAGA!!!”
Daily Mail reported on the poll:
A poll from Yahoo News/YouGov last week shows that Haley is in a distant third place when thrown into a hypothetical primary contest with Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis – who has not announced a bid but is highly popular among GOP voters. The former president would win in a three-way election with 38 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, DeSantis would earn 35 percent and Haley would earn only 11 percent. While not earning enough to win, Haley’s consideration in the race could serve as a spoiler for DeSantis against Trump, according to the poll.
The Democratic National Committee immediately pounced on Haley’s announcement, claiming it is proof that the Republican primary is going to get “messy,” and fueling discord between nominees. “Nikki Haley served in Donald Trump’s administration, has embraced the most extreme elements of the MAGA agenda and couldn’t even identify a single policy difference between herself and Trump,” DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison wrote in a statement following the video release.
“Everyone get your popcorn, ” he added, ignoring the fact that Republicans may well have a whole field of challengers while Democrats are more limited in their presidential choices.
Rephrased from: The Republic Brief By: Trump Knows
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