Nikki Haley knows a thing or two about foreign policy, having served as a UN ambassador for two years. And she was prepared to fight political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy on his idea of foreign relations.
During the first GOP primary debate on Wednesday evening, Ms Haley passionately defended the US sending aid to Ukraine – something Mr Ramaswamy believes should not be a priority.
“Ukraine is the first line of defence for us,” Ms Haley said in Milwaukee. “And the problem that Vivek doesn’t understand is he wants to hand Ukraine to Russia. He wants to let China eat Taiwan. He wants to go and stop funding Israel. You don’t do that to friends. What you do, instead, is you have the backs of your friends.”
Mr Ramaswamy, who prefers the US take a hands-off approach to foreign policy issues, used his 30 seconds to reply to Ms Haley with an insult: “Nikki, I wish you well on your future career on the boards of Lockheed and Raytheon.”
Ms Haley interrupted Mr Ramaswamy’s time to speak to return fire.
“I’m not on the board of Lockheed and Raytheon. You know, you’ve put down everyone on this stage, but you want to go and defund Israel, you want to give Taiwan to China, you want to give Ukraine to Russia…” Ms Haley began.
As the two sparred for time to speak, Ms Haley emerged with a clear voice: “You will make America less safe. You have no foreign policy experience and it shows!”
The crowd erupted in applause for Ms Haley after the two sparred.
The interaction was a reflection on a common theme of the night – candidates pointing out Mr Ramaswamy’s lacking political experience despite his ascendant campaign for the White House.
Former Vice President Mike Pence called Mr Ramaswamy a “rookie” and belittled his ideas on what the US president should do. Mr Christie called the entrepreneur-turned-politician an “amateur.”
