Nikki Haley fights off interruption at Hilton Head event, warns against Trump ‘chaos’

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley took the microphone 6:45 p.m. Thursday at Forrest Fire BBQ restaurant on Hilton Head Island, and it took only a few moments for the Donald Trump faithful to interrupt her remarks.

“I thought you were a man of the people,” a MAGA fan shouted.

True to her form when previously distracted, she stayed calm, quipped that she was a woman, not a man, and continued with her speech to about 300 at the restaurant a short walk from Coligny Beach. Her reaction reflected how she positioned herself: as a more measured Republican presidential nominee than Trump and someone who isn’t letting his noise, better primary polling numbers, and supporters — including South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and Sen. Tim Scott — bother her.

Haley, who was the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, is vying for South Carolinian votes in the upcoming Feb. 24 primary. Outside the Palmetto State, a GOP candidate needs more than half of the 2,429 state delegates to win the national contest. After the nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, Trump leads 32-17. South Carolina will be the third vote and provides a total of 50 of those delegates: 29 statewide and 21 by congressional district in a winner-take-all format.

“Don’t complain about what happens in a general election if you don’t play in this primary,” Haley said. It was clear she thought the only thing standing in the way of a Republican president in 2024 was Trump.

Any registered voter can participate in the Republican primary as long as they skip the Democratic primary, which is Feb. 3. This is called an “open” primary, and in her speech, Haley attempted to appeal to the independent or even Democrat voters in the audience, especially those who don’t want President Joe Biden to win again, citing recent polls saying she had better chances against him.

Haley was fiery, early on criticizing Trump on national security policy and saying, “We can’t go through four more years of chaos. We won’t survive.”

Notable attendees included state Sen. Tom Davis and 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone, who each introduced her. This local support is contrary to other South Carolina politicians like McMaster and Scott pledging support to Trump.

“Trump can have them. I don’t want them,” Haley said. She spun those politicians’ support of Trump as proof that she is an outsider who won’t go along with the political elite, citing policies she wants to enact as president including term limits for congressional members. She said her efforts in creating accountability in South Carolina “never made any friends” because she forced local politicians to openly stand behind the votes they cast. She did this in 2011 as governor by signing into law a new South Carolina practice of “roll call voting.”

While she says she may not have made many friends during her time as governor from 2011 to 2017, she lauded what she did during that time. So did Hilton Head Island residents who attended the evening event and mentioned her enacting a voter ID law in 2011, calling for the Confederate flag’s removal from government grounds in 2015 and handling of Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

At the end of her speech, Haley posed the question of whether voters wanted to go in a new direction with her or have more of the same under Trump.

After the announcement of Haley’s Hilton Head event circulated earlier in the week, Trump supporters called for a protest of her speech. Outside, about 30 flag-waving supporters of the former president wore Trump paraphernalia said they wanted more of Trump.

Inside, attendees said more of Trump was what they wanted to prevent.

“We need another option,” said Susan Jacobsen, who has lived on Hilton Head for 25 years. “We’re looking for the best candidate. Nikki Haley is the best candidate.”

Island Packet reporter Sebastian Lee contributed to this report.