Nikki Haley competes with Donald Trump
When a new fighter enters the arena to go up against a legend, the crowd braces for a good show. But if the matchup is too lopsided the brawl is no fun. That was the sense when Nikki Haley, a former governor of South Carolina and Donald Trump’s first UN ambassador, announced her presidential run on Twitter on February 14th, becoming the first Republican formally to challenge her former boss. At a launch event in an open-air shed in Charleston the next day, the crowd roared when she suggested mandatory mental-competency tests for politicians over 75. Ms Haley climbs into the ring as a lightweight. But her candidacy helps illustrate the problems of the Republican Party and the nature of the coming contest.
For one thing, it shows that Mr Trump will face competition. Other, weightier contenders have been limbering up, including by writing books in readiness for the fight. Mike Pence, the former vice-president, and Mike Pompeo, CIA director and then secretary of state under Mr Trump, have produced memoirs. And the man shaping up as the most formidable challenger, Ron DeSantis, Florida’s governor, is due to publish his “blueprint for America’s revival” on February 28th. A crowded field suits Mr Trump (it helped him secure his party’s nomination in 2016). He has said that Ms Haley “should definitely run”.
Like many other potential candidates—and the party as a whole, which tied itself to a person rather than to ideas—Ms Haley has been bruised by association with Mr Trump. As governor she demonstrated a less angry brand of Republicanism. After a white supremacist killed nine black churchgoers in Charleston in 2015 she campaigned to remove the confederate flag from the statehouse. The daughter of Indian immigrants, she took issue with Mr Trump’s distaste for foreigners and disrespect for women. Even after he easily won her home state’s presidential primary in 2016, she reviled his cosiness with a former grand…
2023-02-14 16:28:06
Source from www.economist.com
In a time of immense political turmoil and heightened tensions, Nikki Haley and Donald Trump have engaged in a fierce power struggle within the political sphere.
Brought to the forefront in early June, Nikki Haley, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, made her waves when she openly contradicted a Trump administration policy on the issue of Russia sanctions. This issue came into the foreground when she firmly declared that the US would “release no additional sanctions”, whereas Trump indicated he might “consider it”.
This move ignited a volatile reaction from the President as well as his closest aides, who accused Haley of “jumping the gun” and “binging her own foreign policy”. This powerful retaliation speaks to the contentious nature between Haley and the Trump administration more generally.
However, the feisty relationship between the two poles of power has had its ups and downs. To some extent, Haley and Trump have been able to coexist in relative harmony. Despite a few case-specific interactions, Haley was “praised” and “defended” by Trump on a variety of issues. In some instances, the two politicians went to great lengths in order to magnify one another’s support.
On the flipside, Haley’s pro-Israel approach has often caused her to butt heads with the Trump administration’s decision-making process. This issue first became a major point of contention when the White House attempted to reverse the Obama-era resolution of not vetoing anti-Israel decisions at the UN, which Nikki Haley opposed.
Fastforwarding to the present moment, tensions between the Donald Trump and Nikki Haley have drastically increased. On the one hand, Haley continues to represent the moderating influence needed on Trump when tackling global issues. And in other instances, Haley provides criticisms of the Trump administration when necessary.
Regardless of the current state of affairs, the power dynamics between Haley and the Trump administration remain at the forefront of national news and remain the source of sharp debate among political pundits. In the end, their relationship will be remembered as an iconic feature of the Trump administration in the years to come.