Nikki Haley on April 10 made the case for her electability in the general election—a key selling point as she woos the wary GOP voter base in the aftermath of former President Donald J. Trump’s indictment.
“At the end of the day, you can’t fix anything if we don’t win. And let me tell you, if you elect someone in this primary that can’t win a general, all of us are going to suffer because of that,” she said.
Haley spoke at Port Neal Welding in Salix, Iowa, a small community near Sioux City, on the northwestern edge of the state.
The former South Carolina governor and former United Nations ambassador has made multiple campaign stops in Iowa and other key early states since she officially announced her bid for the 2024 GOP presidential slot in February.
The visit to Salix is part of her third trip through the Hawkeye State. She is traveling with Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa), whose district covers much of the state’s western half.
Feenstra introduced Haley to the Salix crowd, highlighting President Joe Biden’s second veto against a joint resolution from Congress to overturn the president’s “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) definition.
WOTUS is a big deal in Iowa and other heavily agricultural states.
“He [Biden] vetoed it, doubling down to make sure that American agriculture will have a hard time,” Feenstra said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the second most popular 2024 hopeful among Republicans after Trump, has not yet formally announced his candidacy.
Haley argued for her Trumpian bona fides on many topics, including foreign policy, where she gained experience thanks to Trump’s appointment.
She argued that the United States should cease giving foreign aid to hostile regimes, noting that its money had made its way to countries not known for having pro-American values.
As examples, she named Cuba, China, Belarus, Iraq, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe, calling the last “the most anti-American African country there is.”
She also said the United States must “outlaw all foreign lobbying whatsoever” to Congress.
“That’s what embassies are for,” she told the crowd.
Haley struck a tough stance on the mass flow of illegal immigrants and fentanyl across the U.S.-Mexico border. Mass legal immigration, by contrast, didn’t come up.
At another juncture, she suggested that Republicans must work to change their ethnic and racial demographics to compete in 2024–in keeping with the theme of electability, and with the case she has made for herself as the daughter of Indian immigrants.
“We have to start seeing this as a story of addition. We need to go to Hispanics, we need to go to the Jewish community, we need to go to the Asian community, you need to go to African Americans,” she said.
“We should want to win the majority of Aemricans, because our policies are the right ones,” she added.
Haley criticized Democrats and Republicans alike for failing to maintain rein in spending, noting that many Republicans in Congress have become comfortable requesting earmarks again.
“You never spend more than you make,” she said.
She also said that entitlement reform would be necessary, reassuring the mostly older crowd that if “you gave, you get.”
Haley said that young adults, now in their twenties, would have to face a higher retirement age, one that “reflects life expectancy.”
