A family affair: Nikki Haley’s kids step up for mom’s presidential bid before SC primary

For most of the campaign, Nikki Haley’s children have stayed off the stump.

Outside of the campaign kickoff where Haley’s family joined her at the end of her speech, the public role of her children in the campaign has been limited.

At most Nalin Haley, a senior in college, writes weekly fundraising appeals to encourage supporters to contribute $5 at a time.

Rena Haley Jackson, the presidential candidate’s daughter who is an Upstate pediatric nurse, has knocked on doors for the campaign and was often in the front row of debates to support her mother.

The two children have sat for a handful of interviews with their mom, but they rarely made public statements about other candidates.

Both Rena and Nalin, along with Rena’s husband, Joshua Jackson, have joined Nikki Haley on the campaign trail frequently in the final days before the South Carolina Republican presidential primary, where former President Donald Trump is comfortably leading in the polls.

Nalin Haley, however, has been vocal on the stump and on his social media.

On Feb. 10, when Haley’s campaign bus tour returned to the area Haley first represented when she was elected to the State House, Nalin Haley took to the stage to be one of Nikki Haley’s introductory speakers.

During Nalin Haley’s brief remarks, he invoked U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, who was appointed to the Senate in 2012 by Nikki Haley, but endorsed Trump ahead of the New Hampshire primary.

“It feels like 2004 (and) 2010 when the establishment was up against her. We had a lot of people in New Hampshire and I saw Trump standing side-by-side next to Sen. Judas, excuse me, Sen. Scott,” Nalin Haley said in a line that received laughs from the crowd.

Nikki Haley told reporters two days later that she was not aware of what Nalin planned say.

“I’m so proud Nalin. I’m proud of Rena. They’re both here with me today,” Nikki Haley told reporters in Elgin last week. “I didn’t know what Nalin was going say when he got out there. I am proud of him for wanting to go and defend his mom and fight for his mom, and he said what he said. And I had to talk with him after, but that’s a mother-son conversation.”

On Sunday, speaking Face the Nation, Scott said it was just desperate act by the Haleys.

“It’s unfortunate for a person of high caliber that she has been, to stoop down to having her and family refer to me or anyone else as Judas Iscariot or any other name calling,” Scott said.

Nalin Haley responded on social media platform X after the interview.

“No what’s desperate is you abandoning your values to try and score a VP position,” Nalin Haley said. “You can be upset by my comments all you want but I haven’t said anything worse than what Trump has said about you while you’re on stage next to him campaigning for him.”

According to reports, Nalin Haley repeated the Judas line and talked about a tweet he made that compared entrepreneur, and former presidential candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy to Pennywise the Clown, from the movie “It,” during a campaign stop in Dorchester County.

“My mom had a talk with me, and I was like, you know what I feel awful and I would to take this chance and apologize to Pennywise,” Nalin Haley said as the crowd laughed.

During a debate, Vivek Ramaswamy pointed out how Rena Haley Jackson previously had a TikTok account as Haley called for the ban of the social media app.

“Leave my daughter out of your voice,” Haley said to Ramaswamy. “You’re just scum.”

Nalin Haley also defended his sister on Twitter.

“Vivague Ramaslimey backpedaling more than his receding hairline,” Nalin Haley tweeted Nov 8. “And her account was deleted a very very long time ago. Desperate attack.”

Nikki Haley said she expects Rena and Nalin to be at more events especially as her husband, Michael, is overseas deployed in Africa with the South Carolina Army National Guard.

“They want to be with me every chance,” Nikki Haley said. “When Michael can’t be here, I think they really are trying to step up where they can and I’m proud. Michael has been with me in everything I’ve ever done, in every race I’ve ever run. He’s like my right arm. And so with him not there, I think my kids know that and I think that’s why they want to be here to support me and I’m proud to have them.”

Nalin Haley and Rena Haley Jackson have been on the trail for their mother’s previous campaigns.

In 2010, they were challenged by their mom to shake as many hands as possible, and were awarded with a quarter for each person they met.

“So we went everywhere introducing ourselves to everyone. By the end of the night, we presented my mom with a bill about how much she owed us,” Nalin Haley said. “So 14 years later I’m back and it’s not because I’m getting paid because I’m not. But it’s because we have serious problems in this country. We have a Congress that does nothing president who desperately needs a mental competency tests. A world on fire and a nation divided. But if you all play in this primary, y’all do it right. There won’t be for much longer.”

Nalin Haley in recent days stayed away from the jabs when introducing his mother. In Kiawah Island on Saturday he spoke about the high prices in grocery stores and at the gas pump and about the country young people will inherit.

“Unfortunately too many kids our age don’t see the importance of it but you do, and that’s why you’re here. I want you to think, do you want us to inherit a country that is based off debt, lawlessness and chaos,” Nalin Haley said. “Or do you want to give us a fighting chance to give us a country that is more prosperous and will help us in the future because that’s your choice.”

When Nikki Haley took the stage she joked about Nalin Haley’s previous comments on the stump.

“I’m so proud of Nalin. The last couple of times he’s introduced me, he’s tended to say things he really shouldn’t say,” Haley says as the crowd laughs. “So I sat down with him today, I went ‘Nalin, I love you, but your job is not to make my life harder. I need you to keep focus on what we’re trying to do.’ So Nalin you did a great job today.”