Nikki Haley refused to criticize Trump by name, and anyone who refuses to call Trump out specifically is destined to fail in 2024.
Haley said it was time for Republicans to move away from faded names and stale ideas:
Nikki Haley takes a shot at Trump without saying his name,, “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.”
A generation that lacks the courage to criticize Trump by name. pic.twitter.com/T3R8WxQ8Wh
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 15, 2023
Haley said, “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.”
Nikki Haley then moved on to her big issue of promising to use the presidency to gut public schools and making sure that the COVID school closures that ended two years ago never happen again:
Nikki Haley vows to gut public schools and end the COVID school closures of two years ago, “In the America, I see every child gets a world-class education because every parent gets to pick their child’s school. And no politician will be able to close those schools ever again.” pic.twitter.com/pxkM25Kghu
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 15, 2023
There was lots of the obligatory Republican talk about wokness and socialism in her speech, but never let it be said that Nikki Haley doesn’t know how to leave an audience completely depressed.
Toward the end of her announcement, Haley reminded Republicans that they had lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections:
Nikki Haley basically tells Republicans vote for me losers, “I have a particular message for my fellow Republicans. We’ve lost the popular vote in 7 of the last 8 presidential elections. Our cause is right, but we have failed to win the confidence of a majority of Americans.” pic.twitter.com/MgcNAXQWBl
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 15, 2023
Nikki Haley followed the same path that every Republican primary challenger tried against Trump in 2016. If Republicans want to beat Trump in the primary, they won’t do it by staying above the fray. So far, Ron DeSantis has also chosen this same tactic, and it is the path to defeat because Donald Trump is going to go scorched earth on all of his serious primary opponents.
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Trump will do everything imaginable to lower the support for his opponents, and if people like Haley and DeSantis don’t fight back by name, they will get steamrolled and lose.
Nikki Haley could have said that being in Trump’s administration she got to see up close that the Republican Party needs to change. She could set herself up to be the agent of that change.
Haley lacked the courage for that track, so her announcement ended up serving as more evidence for why Trump remains likely to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
