the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, announced her candidacy for president on Tuesday, becoming the first major challenger to former President for the 2024 Republican nomination.
The announcement, delivered in a tweeted video, marks an about-face for the ex-Trump Cabinet official, who that she wouldnB次元官网网址檛 challenge her former boss for the White House in 2024. But she in recent months, citing, among other things, the countryB次元官网网址檚 economic troubles and the need for B次元官网网址済enerational change,B次元官网网址� a nod to the 76-year-old TrumpB次元官网网址檚 age.
B次元官网网址淵ou should know this about me. I donB次元官网网址檛 put up with bullies. And when you kick back, it hurts them more if youB次元官网网址檙e wearing heels,B次元官网网址� Haley said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 Nikki Haley, and IB次元官网网址檓 running for president.B次元官网网址�
Haley, 51, is the first in a long line of Republicans who are expected to launch 2024 campaigns in the coming months. Among them are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.
President has said he intends to seek reelection in 2024, stalling any jostling for the Democratic nomination.
Haley has regularly boasted about her track record of defying political expectations, saying, B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e never lost an election, and IB次元官网网址檓 not going to start now.B次元官网网址�
If elected, Haley would be the nationB次元官网网址檚 first female president and the first U.S. president of Indian descent.
The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley grew up enduring racist taunts in a small South Carolina town and has long referenced that impact on her personal and political arc.
In the three-and-a-half minute video, Haley referenced that past, saying she grew up B次元官网网址渘ot Black, not white B次元官网网址� I was different.B次元官网网址�
Despite that, Haley insisted that America is not a racist country: B次元官网网址淣othing could be further from the truth.B次元官网网址� Playing in the background of her video were images of media reports related to The New York Times MagazineB次元官网网址檚 Pulitzer Prize-winning B次元官网网址�1619 ProjectB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� which centered the countryB次元官网网址檚 history around slavery.
Haley never mentions Trump by name in the video, instead saying B次元官网网址渢he Washington establishment has failed us over and over and over again,B次元官网网址� Haley leans into a call for B次元官网网址渁 new generation of leadership,B次元官网网址� which has become the refrain of her messaging leading up to the launch.
She was an accountant when she launched her first bid for public office, defeating the longest-serving member of the South Carolina House in 2004. Three terms later and with little statewide recognition, Haley mounted a long-shot campaign for governor against a large field of experienced politicians.
She racked up a number of high-profile endorsements, including from the sitting South Carolina governor, Mark Sanford, and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a tea party darling.
With her 2010 victory, Haley became South CarolinaB次元官网网址檚 first female and minority governor B次元官网网址� and the nationB次元官网网址檚 youngest at 38. She earned a speaking slot at the 2012 Republican National Convention and gave the GOP response to President Barack ObamaB次元官网网址檚 State of the Union in 2016.
The defining moment of HaleyB次元官网网址檚 time as governor came after the in a Charleston church by a self-avowed white supremacist who had been pictured holding Confederate flags.
For years, Haley had resisted calls to remove the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds, even casting a rivalB次元官网网址檚 push for its removal as a desperate stunt. But after the massacre and with the support of other leading Republicans, Haley advocated for legislation to remove the flag. less than a month after the murders.
In the 2016 presidential primary, Haley was an early supporter of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, later shifting to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. She ultimately said she would back the partyB次元官网网址檚 nominee.
Shortly after TrumpB次元官网网址檚 victory, he tapped Haley to be his U.N. ambassador, a move that rewarded Henry McMaster, the lieutenant governor who was the nationB次元官网网址檚 first statewide elected official to back TrumpB次元官网网址檚 2016 campaign. HaleyB次元官网网址檚 departure cleared the way for McMaster to ascend to the governorship he had sought, since losing a bruising primary to none other than Haley seven years earlier.
With her Senate confirmation, Haley became the first Indian American in a presidential Cabinet.
During her nearly two-year tenure, Haley feuded at times with other administration officials while bolstering her own public persona.
One of her most memorable moments as U.N. ambassador came in 2018 after National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow suggested Haley had suffered B次元官网网址渕omentary confusionB次元官网网址� when she said Russian sanctions were imminent.
B次元官网网址淲ith all due respect, I donB次元官网网址檛 get confused,B次元官网网址� she responded. The first half of the quote became the title of her 2019 memoir.
Her departure from the job later that year fueled speculation that she would challenge Trump in 2020 or replace Pence on the ticket. She did neither.
Instead, Haley returned to South Carolina, where she bought a home on the wealthy enclave Kiawah Island, joined the board of aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co., launched herself on the speaking circuit and wrote two books, including the memoir.
After the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, Haley initially cast doubts on TrumpB次元官网网址檚 political future but said she wouldnB次元官网网址檛 challenge him in 2024. She later shifted course, citing inflation, crime, drugs and a B次元官网网址渇oreign policy in disarrayB次元官网网址� among her reasons for considering a White House campaign.
During last month, Trump told WIS-TV that Haley had called to seek his opinion on running for president. Trump pointed out her earlier pledge not to run against him but said he made no attempts to stop her.
B次元官网网址淪he said she would never run against me because I was the greatest president, but people change their opinions, and they change whatB次元官网网址檚 in their hearts,B次元官网网址� Trump said. B次元官网网址淪o I said, if your heart wants to do it, you have to go do it.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址�Meg Kinnard, The Associated Press
