Nikki Haley Set to Announce Presidential Bid
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Nikki Haley is set to announce her bid for the presidency on February 15, sources close to the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations told multiple outlets.
Haley’s plans, which were first reported by the Post and Courier, would make her the first Republican to enter the race against former president Trump. She will soon send out an invitation to her supporters for an event at the Charleston Visitor Center where she is set to announce her bid, according to the report.
Haley recently teased a 2024 run during an appearance on Fox News, saying: “As fun as it would be to announce right now, yes . . . we are leaning in,” when Sean Hannity asked her about a run.
“It is time for a new generation. . . . It is time that we get a Republican in there that can lead and that can win a general election,” she said.
Last month, Haley was asked about her comments in 2021 that she would not run for president in 2024 if Trump also ran. She said “a lot has changed,” noting the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, skyrocketing inflation, and “drugs infesting all of our states.”
“When you’re looking at the future of America, I think it’s time for new generational change,” Haley said. “I don’t think you need to be 80 years old to go be a leader in D.C.”
On Saturday, Trump said Haley had called him to discuss the prospect of running. He said he told her, “Go by your heart if you want to run.”
However, he added that Haley had previously “publicly said that ‘I would never run against my president – he was a great president.’” But he concluded in saying that he told her she “should do it.”
Other former Trump administration officials who may enter the 2024 race include former vice president Mike Pence, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, and former national-security adviser John Bolton.
While he has not yet publicly engaged with the question of running for president in 2024, polling suggests that Florida governor Ron DeSantis would be Trump’s most formidable challenger should he choose to enter the ring.
