Democrats Respond to Nikki Haley’s White House Bid

Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and U.S. ambassador to the U.N., in a file photo. Salena Zito

Ex South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as U.N. Ambassador in the Trump administration, on Feb. 14 announced she is running for president, challenging former President Donald Trump for the GOP nomination.

Haley, 51, the first Asian American female to serve as a U.S. governor and the first Indian American to hold a cabinet post in a presidential administration, announced her candidacy in a short video.

In the video, Haley, who seeks to continue making history as the first GOP woman and Asian American nominee for the presidency, highlights that she is the daughter of immigrants from India and is committed to upholding the founding principles of the nation.

She emphasizes her experience witnessing oppressive regimes while ambassador, and declares it is time for the torch to be passed to a new generation.

Democratic National Committee Response

It did not take long for Democrats to begin their assault on her track record and positions.

Even as Haley makes her case, and takes on her former boss, her opponents say she continues to represent Make America Great Again (MAGA) and Trump ideology.

President Donald Trump and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley during a meeting on United Nations Reform at U.N. headquarters in New York on Sept. 18, 2017. TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images

“Nikki Haley served in Donald Trump’s administration, has embraced the most extreme elements of the MAGA agenda and couldn’t even identify a single policy difference between herself and Trump,” said Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison in a statement released by the DNC on Feb. 14.

“Her governorship in South Carolina included signing an extreme abortion ban into law with no exceptions for rape or incest, endorsing a plan to end Medicare as we know it, pushing for tax cuts that benefit the ultra-wealthy and corporations, and refusing to expand Medicaid to provide affordable health care access for hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians.

“Haley’s entrance officially kicks off a messy 2024 primary race for the MAGA base that has long been brewing. Everyone get your popcorn,” the DNC statement said.

Haley’s Opening Statement

While she was governor of South Carolina, Haley’s GOP star power was recognized and rewarded when the party chose her to deliver its official response to President Barack Obama’s 2016 State of the Union address.

In her video, she also talks about the strength of the South Carolina economy when she was governor—and how the people of the state, responding to the Charleston mass church shooting of 2015, “turned away from fear and toward God and the values that still make our country the freest and greatest in the world.”

Haley also cited that those within the nation pushing socialist policies, and China and Russia, “think that we can be bullied, kicked around. 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.”