Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will formally announce her presidential campaign for the 2024 race, according to a new report. The announcement, set for February 15, will set up a showdown with her former boss from her time as UN ambassador, President Donald Trump.
The Post and Courier revealed Tuesday night that Haley will seek the Republican nomination from an invitation obtained from “a member of Haley’s inner circle” that will be sent out to supporters for a “special announcement” at The Shed at the Charleston Visitor Center.
Haley has been teasing a White House run for months. During a speech at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in November, Haley told the audience, “If my family and I decide to continue our life of service, we will put 1,000 percent into it and we’ll finish it. For now, I’ll say this. I’ve won tough primaries and tough general elections. I’ve been the underdog every single time.”
“When people underestimate me, it’s always fun. But I’ve never lost an election. And I’m not going to start now,” Haley continued.
Haley said to an ovation from the assembled crowd, “If Biden succeeds in getting us back in the Iran deal, I will make you a promise. The next president will shred it — on her first day in office!”
Haley previously said she would not challenge Trump if he ran again but has changed her language on Twitter recently. “It’s time for a new generation,” she posted. “It’s time for new leadership. And it’s time to take our country back. America is worth the fight — and we’re just getting started.”
During an interview on Fox News with Bret Baier last week, Haley said, “When you’re looking at a run for president, you look at two things. You first look at does the current situation push for new leadership? The second question is, ‘Am I that person that could be that new leader?’”
Haley answered her own questions stating, “Yes, we need to go in a new direction. And can I be that leader? Yes. I think I can be that leader.”
Haley served in the South Carolina House of Representatives as well as two terms as the state’s governor.
Over the weekend, Trump told reporters that he had recently received a phone call from Haley saying that Haley told him “she’d like to consider” a 2024 run. “I talked to her for a little while. I said, ‘Look, you know, go by your heart if you want to run.’”
Trump added, “She called me and said she’d like to consider it, and I said you should do it.”
Trump then said he told Haley, “Go by your heart if you want to run.”
Story cited here.
