Haley is the second Republican after former President Donald Trump to announce his candidacy for the party’s nomination.
Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has announced she will run for president in 2024, becoming the second Republican to seek the party’s nomination after former President Donald Trump announced his candidacy last year.
Haley made the announcement in a video posted online Tuesday, describing herself as the “proud daughter” of Indian immigrants who grew up in the US South.
“Republicans have lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections, that has to change,” she said in the post. In the US, presidents are elected through the Electoral College system, not by popular vote.
In the video, Haley made passing reference to her time as the top envoy to the U.N. under Trump, during which she spearheaded Trump’s combative “America First” approach to international policy.
Get excited! It’s time for a new generation.
Let’s do it! 👊 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/BD5k4WY1CP
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 14, 2023
She also focused on her term as governor of conservative-dominated South Carolina from 2011 to 2017.
“The Washington establishment has failed us time and time again,” she said in the video. “A new generation of leadership needs to rediscover fiscal responsibility, secure our border and strengthen our country, our pride and our purpose.”
The announcement marked a reversal for Haley, who said in 2021 that she would not run for president if Trump announced a 2024 bid.
At the time, however, she kept the door open to a change of heart: “It’s something we’ll talk about at some point, if that decision is something that has to be made,” she told The Associated Press. agency.
Trump announced his bid for the White House in 2024 in November after a midterm election in which the candidates he endorsed generally underperformed.
Haley, like many former Trump officials, was wary of her former boss, who despite recent setbacks is still considered an influential figure in Republican politics.
She has generally sought to present herself as a more moderate alternative to Trump and has been a vocal critic of the former president’s response to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by supporters who wanted to overturn President Joe Biden’s election victory.
Haley focused specifically on Trump’s targeting of his Vice President, Mike Pence, who endorsed Biden’s victory. At the time, she told Politico that she was “appalled” by the former president’s behavior and suggested that he would not be “taken out of the picture” in future Republican politics.
Trump, for his part, took umbrage with Haley when she resigned as ambassador in 2018, calling her a “very special” person and saying she could pick and choose Cabinet positions if she returned.
Haley entered the race days after a Yahoo News/YouGov poll showed her candidacy could actually help Trump, who is expected to face a strong challenge from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Republican primary.
If the trio all ran for the Republican ticket, the survey found, Haley would likely split anti-Trump voters with DeSantis. That would give an advantage to the former president.