Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who served as the US Ambassador to the United Nations for the first two years of Donald Trump’s presidency, has officially announced her entry into the 2024 Republican presidential primary.
Ms Haley, who previously claimed she would not run in next year’s contest if her former boss were to mount a bid to return to the White House, appears to have reversed that stance. She and Mr Trump are now the only two declared presidential candidates running in the 2024 election.
The ex-Palmetto State chief executive had teased the launch of a presidential campaign for several weeks, but she made the news official in a video released by her campaign.
In that video, which was first reported by Axios, Ms Haley references her upbringing as an Indian-American in a town beset by de facto racial segregation. She also describes herself as a “proud daughter of Indian immigrants” who was “difference” because she was neither Black nor white.
“My mom would always say your job is not to focus on the differences but the similarities. My parents reminded me and my siblings every day how blessed we were to live in America," she says, before pivoting to an oft-repeated Republican trope which suggests “some” — meaning Democrats — see the US as a flawed, fundamentally racist nation.
"Some look at our past as evidence that America's founding principles are bad. 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,” she said.
Amid attacks on President Joe Biden and what she describes as “the socialist left,” Ms Haley offers a slight dig at her now-opponent and former boss, Mr Trump, by pointing out that Republican presidential candidates — even winning ones — have not won the popular vote in decades, in “seven out of the last eight presidential elections”.
“That has to change, she said, adding that Mr Biden’s “record is abysmal” and declaring that it is “time for a new generation of leadership” who will “rediscover fiscal responsibility, secure our border and strengthen our country, our pride and our purpose”.
“China and Russia are on the march. 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 continues, before closing her ad with a declaration that she is running for president.
The ex-governor turned Trump-era diplomat is likely to encounter stiff headwinds in her bid for the GOP nomination, with most public polling of the Republican primary electorate showing her garnering support in the single digits. The vast majority of Republican primary voters currently prefer either Mr Trump or Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, according to recent surveys.
Ms Haley may also have difficulty peeling off enough support to win the influential GOP primary in her home state, as Mr Trump remains extremely popular there. Another popular South Carolinian, GOP Senator Tim Scott, is also reportedly planning to launch a presidential campaign in the coming months.
She will also be faced with the challenge of explaining her frequent changes in position when it comes to many issues of importance to GOP voters, including her position on Mr Trump himself.
Jamie Harrison, a former Palmetto State senator who is now chairman off the Democratic National Committee, reacted to her declaration in a statement that pointed out her ties to Mr Trump.
“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,” he said. “Her governorship in South Carolina included signing an extreme abortion ban into law with no exceptions for rape or incest, endorsing a plan to end Medicare as we know it, pushing for tax cuts that benefit the ultra wealthy and corporations, and refusing to expand Medicaid to provide affordable health care access for hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians”.
Mr Harrison added that Ms Haley’s announcement “officially kicks off a messy 2024 primary race for the MAGA base that has long been brewing”.
“Everyone get your popcorn,” he said.
