CONFIDENT NIKKI HALEY’S PUBLIC RESPONSE IRKS TRUMP
>> COLUMBIA: The public split between the White House and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley this week over the Russia sanctions threw a spotlight on her at-times uneasy relationship with President Donald Trump.
Ms Haley’s rejoinder to a putdown from a close Trump adviser about message confusion, she declared that “I don’t get confused’’. But the episode also called into question her standing on Trump’s national security team ahead of tough decisions on North Korea, Iran and other fronts.
“What distinguishes her from the starstruck sycophants in the White House is that she understands the intersection of strong leadership and public service, where great things happen,’’ said Rob Godfrey, a spokesman for Ms Haley when she was governor.
Ms Haley, now considered to be on the shortlist of future presidential candidates, has consistently taken a harder line than Trump on Russia. While that, at times, has drawn Trump’s ire, her hawkishness on other occasions has been appreciated by the president.
That dynamic broke down this week. Trump was angry when he saw Ms Haley on television discussing new Russia sanctions. He blasted her for being out of step with the rest of the administration, according to two White House officials.
Despite Ms Haley’s words, no new sanctions were imposed.
Asked for an explanation, Larry Kudlow, the president’s new economic adviser, told reporters that Ms Haley “got ahead of the curve’’, and he added, “She’s a very effective ambassador, but there might have been some momentary confusion about that’’.
The next day, Ms Haley hit back, releasing a statement to Fox News that read: “With all due respect, I don’t get confused’’.
Mr Kudlow apologised but Ms Haley’s differences with the White House have already been pushed into the open.
At the United Nations, responding to a question about her relationship with the president, she simply said, “It’s perfect’’. But the White House was left scrambling to explain what went wrong.
Ms Haley’s allies insist she always consults with the West Wing, and the president personally, before speaking publicly.
White House officials said the plan about the sanctions changed after she was briefed, however, she wasn’t told of the changes before she went on television. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin further muddled the narrative on Thursday when he told Fox Business Network that the administration “refined the strategy after Nikki made that announcement”.
He said, “She wasn’t left twisting in the wind, this was a fluid situation, the decision changed’’. Ms Haley’s pushback struck a chord, becoming an instant feminist motto in the way it rebelled against what some saw as a patronising comment from a powerful man.
The words carried additional resonance considering Ms Haley’s place as one of the few prominent women in Trump’s inner circle. Meanwhile, Trump vented privately to confidants about the media attention regarding the incident.