Nikki Haley is addressing a New Hampshire townhall this week. She spends the majority of her speech telling her story, as an Indian immigrant, and how she won her election in South Carolina. She’s never lost an election, and she likes to point out that Republicans have lost the popular vote in seven out of the last eight presidential races. This is her message I’m electable. Don’t underestimate me.
“She’s a political talent. She’s engaging. She’s got very good communication skills,” Dante Scala is a University of New Hampshire professor of political science. But he insists that his message is not. “heavy on biography” — albeit compelling — and needs “fine tuning” Attract “those voters in the middle who like Trump but don’t want to see him again.”
Nikki Haley has started running for Republican nomination for president on the basis of a message “generational change,” Is that smokescreen or a smokescreen? for a candidate with no clear constituency in today’s GOP? A former governor of South Carolina and President Trump’s ex-envoy to the United Nations, Ms. Haley has impressive credentials, but she can neither run as a Never Trumper nor in the MAGA lane occupied by Mr. Trump and the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, if he jumps in the race.
The question was posed to Ms. Haley in an interview. “Hannity” interview this week how her positions differ from Mr. Trump’s, Ms. Haley equivocated. “I don’t kick sideways,” Sie said.
On the evidence in Ms. Haley’s website, her campaign is all biography. There are no policy positions listed, aside from generalities, like that she’s anti-abortion, mixed in with her story. For a candidate who hasn’t run for She has not been in office since 2014. Her positions on today’s issues are conspicuously absent.
The Sun spoke with several attendees of the town hall who all expressed the same sentiment: We’re not Nikki Haley fans Each and every one We want someone different. Their greatest fear is another Trump/Biden matchup. Ms. Haley, who is also the official candidate for the race, has so far been the only one.
“We need to focus on new generational leadership, and the best way to do that is to put a badass woman in the White House,” Ms. Haley urged the audience to give her applause. Ms. Haley’s “generational change” This message reached the hearts of everyone in the room. You are also calling her for Competency tests and limits on the term of Congress for elected leaders over the age of 75 — a dig at Messrs. Trump and Biden.
The Age message can only go so far. If Governors DeSantis or Sununu, both in their 40s, enter the race, it will apply to them, too — perhaps more. Ms. Haley has an advantage in announcing early, but if she doesn’t refine her message, the need for She is unlikely to be carried by new blood on her own.
Ms. Haley’s heavy reliance on her sex, her age, and her biography as the daughter of Indian immigrants may not work in her favor with a GOP base that eschews identity politics. Ms. Haley is also critical of identity politics. Yet, this aspect of her identity might give her an unexpected support in the liberal mainstream press.
Don Lemon, CNN’s anchor got into serious trouble Thursday. for Saying that Ms. Haley (51), “isn’t in her prime. Sorry. When a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s, 30, and maybe 40s.”
Mr. Lemon was immediately criticized by his female co-anchors and later apologized. On Twitter, Ms. Haley responded: “To be clear, I am NOT calling for competency tests for Sexist middle-aged CNN anchors; only for people who make our laws and are 75+.”
Andrea Mitchell is the MSNBC anchor this week. asked a former United Nations ambassador, John Bolton, about Ms. Haley: “You’ve quoted Mike Pompeo as saying she’s light as a feather. Would you say that about a man?” Mitchell answered and Ms. Mitchell continued to push back. “Are you judging her in a different way based on gender?”
Ms. Haley also seems to know that her bio is an asset and possibly even a defense. Ms. Haley isn’t afraid to use her gender in her favor. In her video announcement that she is entering the 2024 race, Ms. Haley opened with her immigrant parents’ story and that of racial divisions in her town, and ended by emphasizing her sex.
“You should know this about me,” Ms. Haley tells the camera. “I don’t put up with bullies. And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels.”
Thursday’s town hall saw Ms. Haley dip her toes in the culture wars with less bravado that Messrs. Trump or DeSantis. In mentioning Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill — dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by the press and Ms. Haley — she said, “Basically it said you shouldn’t talk about gender before third grade. I’m sorry, I don’t think it goes far enough.”
Ms. Haley’s appeal is as a polished communicator and perceived steady hand. She was highly praised by the attendees. for Do not use notes for Commanding the space. But what is it that she brings to the table that’s new? for Is it possible that Republican voters will be different than those of other candidates? Are they selling her a “new generation” ability to think and act, standard conservatism or MAGA candidacy wrapped in prettier heels?
