Nikki Haley hints at presidential bid in speech at alma mater

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Nikki Randhawa Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and first Indian-American to hold a Cabinet position, hinted at a Presidential run in 2024. She was speaking at her alma mater   Tuesday November 29, 2022.

The event was titled “The Road to Saving America,” and was hosted by a non-profit organization’s chapter at the Clemson University. Haley, the former Ambassador to the United Nations, is a graduate of Clemson University and a Trustee.

In her speech, she addressed issues before the Republican Party focusing on reasons why it did not perform as well during the Midterm elections November 8, the University newsletter, The Tiger, reported.

She also outlined her vision for the GOP’s future.

At the end of a question-and-answer session following her speech, Haley said, “I’ve never lost a race, and I’m not going to start now. If we decide to get into it, we’ll put a thousand percent into it, and we’ll finish it,” The Tiger reported.

In her speech, Haley attributed the underperformance of her party to the fundraising success of the Democrats as well as early voting and unity in that party.

Republican criticism of President Biden’s policies and the current state of the economy were her talking points. She attacked what she saw as high government spending, rising debt levels and the crunch small businesses were facing, as well as President Joe Biden’s foreign policy decisions.

“31% of small business owners couldn’t make their rent payment in October,” The Tiger quoted Haley saying. And on the state of education, she said, “Let this sink in. 70% of 8th graders in America aren’t proficient in reading,” she said. “We need to get our act together.”

And on foreign policy, she indicated that the withdrawal from Afghanistan had emboldened Russia to invade Ukraine, The Tiger reported.

Haley has also criticized members of her own party for not opposing government spending. In a tweet Nov. 30, she said, “Americans deserve better than politicians in Washington wasting billions of their hard-earned dollars on pork projects and special-interest giveaways. Conservatives need to step up and lead—and that starts with House Republicans banning earmarks today.”