USA TODAY International Edition
Haley will challenge Trump for White House
WASHINGTON – Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will formally launch her 2024 presidential run on Feb. 15, becoming the first Republican to jump into the field to challenge Donald Trump, according to multiple sources familiar with her plans.
Haley has teased her presidential run for weeks, including a tweeted video this week in which she said: “It’s time for a new generation to lead.”
Aides are putting together a Feb. 15 announcement event in Charleston, South Carolina, according to three sources familiar with her plans who spoke to USA TODAY on condition of anonymity.
Teasing her announcement on Twitter, Haley said: “My family and I have a big announcement to share with you on February 15th! And yes, it’s definitely going to be a Great Day in South Carolina!”
Who is Nikki Haley?
The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley has described herself as the embodiment of the American Dream.
She is a college graduate, businesswoman and political leader who won long- shot races to the South Carolina Legislature and the governor’s mansion.
If Haley prevails in the primaries, she would be the Republican Party’s first female and first South Asian presidential nominee.
She also would be the first woman of color to win the presidential nomination for a major party.
In recent months, Haley has cast herself as a new kind of Republican who can take new approaches to the nation’s challenges and to President Joe Biden and the Democrats.
“I think it’s time that we bring in a new generation that can bring in more people to our party,” Haley told Fox News in a recent interview.
What is her political background?
In one of her most publicized moments as governor, Haley signed a 2015 bill that removed the Confederate battle flag from the top of state Capitol following the murders of nine people at a historic Black church in Charleston.
During Haley’s second term in the statehouse, the newly elected President Trump picked her as U. S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Since leaving her U. N. post, Haley has written books, given speeches, and created a political action committee known as “Stand for America.”
What has Haley said about Donald Trump?
Since Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential race, Haley has sent mixed signals about her presidential ambitions.
In April 2021, she told reporters that “I would not run if President Trump ran, and I would talk to him about it.”
In recent months, even after Trump announced his 2024 bid in mid- November, Haley has sounded out potential donors and staff members for a White House campaign of her own.
Haley criticized Trump’s leadership right after the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, but has softened her tone in the two years since.
“If I run, I’m running against Joe Biden,” Haley told Fox. “That’s what I’m focused on.”