Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley officially launched her 2024 presidential campaign on Tuesday, becoming the first Republican candidate to formally toss their hat into the primary ring against former President Donald Trump.
“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 a video message posted to Twitter.
There were weeks of speculation that the former South Carolina governor would run for the GOP nomination since her interview with Fox News’ Brett Baier.
“They all think we can be bullied, kicked around. You should know this about me: I don’t put up with bullies, and when you kick back it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels,” she added.
Trump announced his bid in November. Haley is the first GOP challenger to enter the race against him.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have yet to announce their bid for the 2024 White House run to challenge Trump and Haley.
Get excited! Time for a new generation.
Let’s do this!
pic.twitter.com/BD5k4WY1CP
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 14, 2023
Sam Markstein, national political director at the Republican Jewish Coalition, recently told Zenger News that Haley is a longtime friend of the Jewish community and the RJC.
She has “a tremendous record of accomplishment on the issues we care about: being an outspoken defender of Israel at the United Nations, a stalwart opponent of Iran and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Jewish community in the fight against antisemitism,” he said.
As U.N. ambassador in 2017-18, Haley took part in the General Assembly’s first-ever vote seeking to condemn Hamas for a terror attack against Israel.
More recently, she has expressed publicly the need to fight antisemitism and support Israel in the wake of antisemitic attacks worldwide and terror attacks in Israel.
In a speech in Montreal in December, she said that Washington must stand strongly and steadfastly with Israel for there to be Middle Eastern peace.
“A strong America prevents war. At the end of the day, it’s about leadership and America has to demonstrate that leadership, including absolute support for its allies like Israel,” she said.
The growing antisemitism has been one of the most crucial moments in American history where had spoken on Twitter in the fight again antisemitism.
“Today we honor the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust by vowing to stand up to hate EVERY day—not just today,” she said on Twitter, but then added. “With antisemitism on the rise, take to heart Elie Wiesel’s words: ‘We must always take sides. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.’”
In January, Haley rebutted a Holocaust parallel drawn by President Joe Biden.
When asked by a reporter whether immigration was a basic human right, Biden responded, “Well, I think it is a human right if your family is being persecuted, if you’re being dealt with in a way—like I thought it was a human right for you know, Jews in Germany to be able to go and escape and get help where they could. But the other side of this is, there’s also, the people in this country have basic rights that are here—basic fundamental rights. We assure the people coming have been checked out, they’re not criminals, they’re not a problem, that they’re background checked.”
Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, fired back at Biden on Twitter: “No. The systematic and targeted murder of 6 million Jews in Nazi death camps is not the same. You’re a disgrace. Don’t belittle the Holocaust to score political points.”
She also addressed antisemitism in an October address at the Canadian Friends of Jerusalem College of Technology’s 50th anniversary.
“We have to call out antisemitism every time we see it,” Haley told the audience of 500. “We have to speak up every time we see it. We have to humiliate those that do it every time they do it. And we have to remind leaders to speak up.”
When asked by CNN, GOP South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace weighed in on the possibility of endorsing her.
“Nikki Haley is a very good friend of mine. She’s a mentor. She works harder than anybody that I know,” said Mace of her friendship with Haley. “I said to her last year that I hope she would run no matter what. I have a daughter, and I want my daughter to have someone to look up to.
Produced in association with Jewish News Syndicate.
