Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was not eager on Sunday to differentiate between her candidacy and that of former President Donald Trump. She declared that she is instead determined to defeat President Joe Biden.
Addressing “Fox News Sunday,” Haley was asked why a Republican should pick her instead of the 45th president. The former South Carolina governor marveled that the media consistently asks that question but reiterated that she is “focused on Joe Biden.”
2024 National Republican Primary
Donald Trump: 50%
Ron DeSantis: 24%
Mike Pence: 9%
Nikki Haley: 7%
Ted Cruz: 4%
Liz Cheney: 3%
Chris Sununu: 1%Head-2-Head:
Donald Trump: 61%
Ron DeSantis: 39%@wearebigvillage | 346 A | Feb 15-17https://t.co/ivD3gONN6d pic.twitter.com/cgFBzdB7K2— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) February 17, 2023
However, it is a question that will need to be answered at some point, especially as the field inevitably gets more crowded with Republican contenders.
Trump and Haley are the only announced candidates thus far.
Host Shannon Bream asked the former UN ambassador, “Why you?” Haley replied, “Why not me?” and went on to endorse her belief in term limits, the dangers of “woke” education, socialism, and defeatism.
Even as she dodged the specific query on differences between herself and the former president, Haley did call for “new energy going in.” She added that “I think we need to leave the status quo of the past and start looking ahead.”
Bream also noted a Wall Street Journal article last week that lauded Haley’s entry into the race but said she had not given strong reasons to choose her over other Republicans.
Trump has not been shy about calling out Haley for her previous pledge not to seek the White House if he were a candidate. In April 2021 she stated that “I would not run if President Trump ran.”
But the former president has also welcomed her candidacy, saying recently “the more the merrier.” He added that he’s “glad” she announced her decision, even though she had said she would “never run against who she called the greatest president of her lifetime.”
Trump announced his third attempt at the White House just after November’s midterm elections, and Haley last week became the first GOP contender to make her challenge to the former president official.
The field of candidates will undoubtedly expand over the next several months as more Republicans make their decisions. Many political observers believe it will be difficult for someone to emerge from a pack of contenders to defeat Trump in next year’s primaries.
