Republican Nikki Haley Kicks Off White House Campaign

Republican Nikki Haley launched her presidential campaign Wednesday, betting that her track record as a woman and a person of color who served as governor of a southern state before representing America on the world stage can outweigh the entrenched support her former boss enjoys. , Former President Donald Trump.

Haley, who was governor of South Carolina and ambassador to the United Nations, appeared for the first time in public as a candidate for the White House in the historic city of Charleston, on the Atlantic coast, presenting herself as representing a generational change capable of recovering the presidency for his party.

“If you’re tired of losing, trust a new generation,” Haley said.

She highlighted her experience at the UN, her origin as the daughter of Indian immigrants and spoke in hopeful terms about the future of the country. “Believe me,” she said, “America is not a racist country.”

He tried to make a show of strength in his home state, where one of the first primaries to influence the Republican candidacy is taking place. Rep. Ralph Norman, who spoke before her and whom Trump endorsed in the 2022 congressional election, was the first from her state to publicly endorse her.

A few hundred people occupied a metal-roofed, wallless structure known as “the Shed,” adjacent to the Charleston Visitors Reception Center, for an hour before the speech. The crowd carried campaign signs and American flags, and listened to music from a row of speakers.

On Tuesday, Haley released a video in which declared his candidacy, the first by a leading figure to challenge Trump, and hardly the last. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are expected to do so in the coming months. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott could be another challenger.

At the beginning of the primary campaign, the big question is whether anyone will be able to displace Trump at the head of a party transformed by him in the 2016 campaign. He maintains the support of a broad base of voters with significant weight in the primary, although some leaders blame him for the lackluster performance in the midterm elections. As in 2016, the multiplicity of candidates could favor Trump and allow him to win the nomination given the divisions of the vote among his opponents.

Haley, 51, barely alluded to the 76-year-old former president, saying he has named her ambassador to the UN.

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channel Youtube and activate notifications, or follow us on social networks: Facebook, Twitter and instagram.