Nikki Haley declares her bid for the US presidency in 2024
Nikki Haley, a former US ambassador to the UN, declared on Tuesday that she is running for president, making her the first well-known person to take on her former employer Donald Trump for the Republican nomination.
Haley had been teasing a potential candidature for president for weeks and positioning herself as a younger, fresher alternative to the 76-year-old Trump. On February 15, she promised a “major announcement.”
Finally, on Valentine’s Day, the 51-year-old announced her candidature one day early. The daughter of Indian immigrants and former governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, announced her candidature for president in a video statement.
Get excited! Time for a new generation.
Let’s do this! 👊 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/BD5k4WY1CP
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 14, 2023
She said in the video, which was filmed in Bamberg, her hometown in South Carolina, “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 played up her personal experience as part of her pitch to unify a society torn apart by racial hostilities. She is casting herself as a changemaker who can revitalise a party and country she claims have lost their course in recent years.
“I felt happy to be the daughter of immigrants from India. neither white nor black. She claimed in her announcement video that she was unique. But my mother would always remind me, “Your job is to focus on the commonalities, not the differences.” She continued, “Some view our past as proof that America’s founding ideas are flawed.
“They claim that the promise of freedom is unreal. Some believe that our ideas are not only incorrect but also racist and nasty. There is no possible way that this is true. If elected, Haley would be the nation’s first female president, and she is not expected to be the last Republican to enter the race.
Some observers in Washington anticipated that her announcement may spark a stampede from contenders including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, and Trump’s vice president Mike Pence.
