The 5 big things to look for in Nikki Haley’s Republican Convention speech tonight | Opinion

The Trump campaign scheduled Nikki Haley’s Republican National Convention speech at the last minute as part of his post-shooting “unity” effort. Her speech is one of the big ones Tuesday.

Here are five things to look for:

1. The rivalry to replace Donald Trump in 2028 starts tonight: Will Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, the vice presidential candidate, succeed Trump, or will it be Trump’s closest rival in the 2024 primaries, former United Nations ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Haley? The former Trump cabinet member needs to make an impact with the crowd and with viewers at home.

2. Haley is an ardent pro-lifer, once having introduced legislation to ban abortion at conception with no exception for rape. Will she poke the Trump campaign for its decision to dump the Republican Party’s decades-old pro-life platform plank?

3. How much old-school Republicanism will her speech feature? Is she a free-trade tax-cutter with tough foreign policy views, or does she remake herself in the Trump mold espousing a more isolationist foreign policy and more populist views on the economy?

4. What’s her approach to unity? Is she seeking to bridge gaps among the party faithful, or is she looking to the center and independents as part of a general election campaign that hopes to scoop up even some traditional Democrats?

5. How will she explain her trajectory from Trump loyalist to scathing skeptic and then jump back into the Trump fold? Vance has a lot of explaining to do, but it is nothing compared to Haley’s double flip-flop.

Haley is a wily veteran of national politics and an accomplished diplomat — expect her to be executing her own agenda tonight, not Donald Trump’s. You’ll just have to read between the lines to get it.

David Mastio, a former editor and columnist for USA Today, is a regional editor for The Center Square and a regular Star Opinion correspondent. Follow him on X: @DavidMastio or email him at dmastio1@yahoo.com