WASHINGTON: Indian-American Republican leader Nikki Haley has announced she is running for President in 2024, challenging fellow Republican candidate Donald Trump, The Hill reported.
Former South Carolina Republican Governor and United Nations ambassador Haley announced her bid in a video shared on Twitter. Haley called for new leadership in the party that she admitted had repeatedly failed to grab the popular vote in the presidential elections. While sharing the video, she wrote, “Get excited! Time for a new generation. Let’s do this!”
“Republicans have lost the popular vote in seven out of the last eight presidential elections. That has to change,” The Hill quoted Nikki Haley as saying.
“Joe Biden’s record is abysmal, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Washington establishment has failed us over and over and over again. It’s time for a new generation of leadership,” she added.
In the video posted on Twitter, Nikki Haley said, “I was the proud daughter of Indian immigrants. Not black, not white. I was different. But my mom would always say, ‘Your job is not to focus on the differences, but the similarities’ and my parents reminded me and my siblings every day how blessed we were to live in the US.”
She further said, “Some look at our past as evidence that America’s founding principles are bad. They say the promise of freedom is just made up. Some think our ideas are not just wrong, but racist and evil. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Haley’s entrance into the US presidential race has been expected for months. Nearly two years back, Haley had said that she would not challenge Trump for the 2024 nod if he decided to mount another bid for the White House, as per the Hill report.
After leaving the Trump administration, Nikki Haley started her own outside group, “Stand for America” to boost Republican candidates before the 2022 midterm elections, as per the news report. While announcing her presidential campaign, Nikki Haley has indicated that she seeks to bridge the divide between traditional conservative priorities and the culture war.
“Some people look at America and see vulnerability. The socialist Left sees an opportunity to rewrite history. China and Russia are on the march. They all think we can be bullied, kicked around,” The Hill quoted Haley as saying.
“You should know this about me: I don’t put up with bullies. And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels,” she added. (ANI)