Stephen Colbert is Underwhelmed by Nikki Haley’s Big Announcement


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Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley is expected to say that not enough Americans feel proud of their country and that it’s time for a new generation of leadership when she makes her opening pitch for the Republican nomination for president Wednesday, according to a person familiar with her thinking.

The former twice-elected governor of South Carolina, who turned 51 last month, launched her 2024 campaign Tuesday in a video and will appear at an event in Charleston Wednesday, before traveling to the early-voting states of New Hampshire and Iowa in the following days. Her announcement could provide a jolt to what has so far been a slow-moving Republican primary campaign season, with many potential candidates hesitant to be the first to follow former President Donald Trump into the race. Trump launched his third bid for the White House in November.

In her announcement speech, Haley will “lean into that idea that America is not racist, and we should be proud of who we are as Americans. Generations are being taught to hate America. We need to renew our American pride and stop apologizing for our founding values,” said the person familiar with Haley’s thinking, who requested anonymity to discuss the campaign.

Asked how Haley planned to approach 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 nominated by the Republican Party for president. Haley was born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa in Bamberg, South Carolina. A 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 governor of the state and was the youngest governor in the nation when she took office in 2011. She resigned in the middle of her second term to become Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations – a role she served in until the end of 2018.

“The Washington establishment has failed us over and over and over again. It’s time for a new generation of leadership to rediscover fiscal responsibility, secure our border and strengthen our country, our pride and our purpose,” Haley said in her announcement video Tuesday.

GOP Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, who has been an ally of Trump, endorsed Haley for president in 2024 on Wednesday and said Republicans were looking for “new leadership with a new vision at the top of the ticket.”

Norman praised Trump in the past, arguing in 2016 Trump was “exactly who the Republican Party needed” and that the country was “better off now for what President Trump accomplished.” But Norman, who served in the South Carolina statehouse with Haley, argued it was time for a new chapter in the GOP.

“We’re at a pivotal point, and most of the Republicans I know are now looking for new leadership with a new vision at the top of the ticket. There’s also no question Nikki Haley has the right leadership qualities and vision to move our country forward,” Norman said.

Several people who have known Haley for decades describe her as ambitious, disciplined, extremely competitive and not afraid of making enemies. They point to her swift decision as governor to call for the removal of 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 as an example of her bold leadership style and ability to take decisive action.

“She’s a hard charger,” said state Rep. Nathan Ballentine, a longtime friend and ally who started out in the state legislature with Haley nearly 20 years ago. “She’s a pit bull when she gets something on her mind.”

Supporters hope Haley will gain traction among Republican voters who like Trump’s conservative policies but are disenchanted with what they see as his erratic behavior and political bomb-throwing. Haley is more polished and focused, her backers argue, which could make her a more effective champion for conservative priorities.

“Her strength is that she can lay claim to being associated with the policies that people like about the Trump administration, but she’s not Donald Trump,” said Chip Felkel, a Republican strategist in South Carolina.

Haley will likely 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 all said to be weighing 2024 runs and could also appeal to conservative Republicans looking to turn the page from Trump. Some Republican strategists say a big Republican primary field would be advantageous to Trump, who still enjoys significant support among the party base, and could splinter the vote, allowing the former president to walk away with the nomination.

Note: This article is taken from edition.cnn.com https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/15/politics/nikki-haley-2024-charleston/index.html

 

 

 

 

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