The newest contender in the 2024 presidential contest Nikki Haley — former U.N. ambassador and the 116th governor of South Carolina — kicked off her campaign on Wednesday morning with a speech in Charleston.
"It's a great day in South Carolina!" Haley declared after taking the podium as "Eye of the Tiger" played. "We're ready — ready to move past the stale ideas and faded names of the past and we are more than ready for a new generation to lead us into the future."
"From Joe Biden on down, our leaders put too much trust in big government and too little trust in the American people," Haley said. "This is not the America that called to my parents and, make no mistake, this is not the America I will leave to my children," she pledged.
"Today our enemies think that the America era has passed," Haley noted. "They're wrong — America is not past our prime, it's just that our politicians are past theirs," she quipped in a swipe at another announced and potential candidates.
We won’t win the fight for the 21st Century if we keep trusting politicians from the 20th Century
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 15, 2023
"Our best days are yet to come if we unite and fight to save our country," Haley said. "I have devoted my life to this fight and I'm just getting started. For a strong America, for a proud America, I am running for president of the United States of America."
Haley said her campaign and plans for the country require "faith, and a willingness to move past the status quo, and it will require doing some things we've never done — like sending a tough as nails woman to the White House."
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"This is not about identity politics, I don't believe in that," Haley clarified. "I don't believe in glass ceilings either," she added in a hit on Democrats' obsession with race and gender, plus a subtle punch at Hillary Clinton's failed 2016 campaign.
"In the America I see, every child gets a world class education because every parent gets to pick their child's school," Haley said in outlining some of her key priorities. "And no politician will be able to close those schools ever again."
Haley continued saying her plans will mean "police know we have their backs and criminals know we have their number," "having a real border and mandatory e-verify like we got done in South Carolina," "voter ID will be the law of the land," plus "term limits for Congress and mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old."
"I see a strong America because I see a proud America," Haley continued of her plans. "Strong and proud, not weak and woke." In this America Haley hopes to build and lead, the United States "will win the fight for the 21st century," she explained. "The armed forces of the United States will be stronger and more capable than ever," Haley continued before invoking Reagan's peace-through-strength philosophy. "A strong military doesn't start wars, a strong military prevents wars."
A strong military doesn’t start wars. A strong military prevents wars!
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 15, 2023
Speaking to her fellow Republicans, Haley noted the GOP has "lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections. Our cause is right — but we have failed to win the confidence of a majority of Americans," she explained. "Well, that ends today."
"If you’re tired of losing, then put your trust in a new generation," Haley encouraged. "And if you want to win — not just as a party, but as a country — then stand with me!"
Haley's remarks were preceded by Cindy Warmbier, the mother of Otto Warmbier who died at age 22 just days after being released from a North Korean prison in 2017. "My son Otto was invited to North Korea on an organized tour, he was taken hostage, tortured, and murdered by the government of North Korea," Warmbier recounted. "But because of him, I'm here."
But, Warmbier continued, "there's a lot you don't know and that's why I'm here. I came here to tell you how Nikki Haley changed my life — to tell you that Nikki was a glimmer of light in the darkest period of my life — to tell you why America would be lucky to have Nikki Haley in the White House," she said.
“We need a leader in the White House who inspires us to become the best versions of ourselves, who understands our fears and pushes us to conquer them. I'm here to tell you we need @NikkiHaley fighting for all our children the way she fought for Otto” — Cindy Warmbier
— Team Haley (@TeamHaley) February 15, 2023
"I'm here to tell you we need a leader in the White House who inspires us to become the best versions of ourselves, who understands our fears and pushes us to conquer them," Warmbier added. "I'm here to tell you that we need Nikki Haley fighting for all our children the way she fought for Otto. We need a patriot who reminds us every day that, no matter what happens, we are blessed to be Americans. I am here to tell you Nikki Haley is that leader, that fighter, that patriot," she declared.
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), who earlier announced his endorsement of Haley for 2024, also spoke at the kickoff rally, saying "Nikki and I are Republicans, but we're conservative first" and calling the former Palmetto State governor "America's version of Margaret Thatcher" who will "fight with an iron fist in a velvet glove."
Haley is now the first Republican to challenge 45th President Donald Trump — in whose administration Haley served as ambassador to the United Nations — for the Republican nomination. President Joe Biden has still not announced whether he will run for a second term in 2024.
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