Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley announced Wednesday she is running for president, saying it is time for a new generation of leadership and for the nation’s gray-haired leaders to undergo mandatory mental capacity tests to serve in public office.
Mrs. Haley said America is “falling behind” on the watch of 80-year-old President Biden and said it is time to unite and “move past the stale ideas and faded names of the past.”
“I have devoted my life to this fight and I am just getting started,” Mrs. Haley told her supporters at a launch party in Charleston, South Carolina. “For a strong America, for a proud America, I am running for president of the United States of America!”
The announcement makes Mr. Haley the second official candidate in the GOP presidential race — putting her on a crash course with her former boss, former President Donald Trump.
Mrs. Haley has her work cut out for her. She barely registers in polls which show Mr. Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis running well ahead of everyone else.
Still, Mrs. Haley brings a unique profile to the race and a track record of defying the odds.
The 51-year-old married mother of two children, and a daughter of Indian immigrants, served as the first female governor of South Carolina before joining the Trump administration as ambassador to the United Nations.
Sketching out her vision for the future, Mrs. Haley said she plans to “end inflation,” strengthen the education system, and support the police.
She pledged to beef up the military and stop the surge of drugs and illegal immigrants coming across the nation’s border in part by adopting mandatory E-Verity — the government’s tool for blocking illegal immigrants from the workforce.
To restore faith in the electoral system and in the government, she said she will make Voter ID the “law of the land,” push for term limits in Congress, and “mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.” Mr. Trump is 76.
Fulfilling that vision “requires faith and a willingness to move past the status quo and it will require doing something we have never done — like sending a tough-as-nails woman to The White House,” Mrs. Haley said, sparking applause from the crowd.
Mrs. Haley also had announced her bid in a pre-recorded video on Tuesday.
Mr. Trump welcomed her to the race by sending out a “The Real Nikki Haley” email blast with links to news reports that cast her as sympathetic to Hillary Clinton, soft on immigration, and supportive of cutting entitlement spending as a way to address the national debt.
Ms. Haley has had an up-and-down relationship with Mr. Trump. She heaped criticism on him after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to show support for his stolen election claims. She later dialed back her criticism, saying she would not run for the GOP presidential nomination if Mr. Trump ran.
Mrs. Haley, however, had a change of heart.
On Wednesday, she targeted Mr. Trump with some thinly veiled digs, driving home the message it is time for a new political era and for the GOP to get back to winning after losing the popular vote “in seven of the last eight presidential elections.”
“If you’re tired of losing, then put your trust in a new generation,” she said. “And if you want to win — not just as a party, but as a country — then stand with me!”
The field of contenders will continue to grow over the coming months. Mr. DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and Sen. Tim Scott, also of South Carolina, are among the numerous Republicans considering runs.
Mrs. Haley said people underestimate her at their own risk, touting her economic record as governor and the foreign policy chops she gained at the United Nations.
“When I ran for governor, people said, ’Nikki who?’ But together, we won,” she said. “Then we cut taxes, created thousands of jobs, and revitalized our economy.”
“When President Trump nominated me for Ambassador to the United Nations, people said I didn’t have the experience,” she said. “Then I went to work. I told the world that America would have the backs of our allies, and for those who did not have our backs, we were taking names!”
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.