Nikki Haley, a hawkish US diplomat and politician, is poised to formally launch her 2024 presidential bid on February 15, becoming the first Republican to join the race and challenge her former boss Donald Trump.
The former South Carolina Governor, 51, who also served as the US ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, will formally make the announcement at an event in the Shed at the Charleston Visitor Center on February 15, the Charleston Post and Courier reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, Haley's supporters on Wednesday will receive an email invitation to the event. The note is expected to outline her plans in her race against Trump, who is the only official GOP presidential candidate so far.
Back in 2021, Haley said she would not run for president in 2024 if Trump ran, but has suggested recently she changed her mind, putting her on a reverse course from her previous promises not to run against the businessman-turned-politician.
“It’s time for a new generation,” she wrote on her official Twitter account in recent days. “It’s time for new leadership. And it’s time to take our country back. America is worth the fight — and we’re just getting started.”
Trump said on Saturday Haley had called him to discuss her 2024 bid, in response to which the former president told her to go by her heart.
“She said she would never run against me because I was the greatest president, but people change their opinions, and they change what's in their hearts,” Trump told WIS-TV. “So I said, if your heart wants to do it, you have to go do it.”
A Morning Consult poll of 3,459 “potential Republican primary voters,” conducted between January 27 and 29, found that Haley is the fourth most popular candidate for the GOP presidential nomination.
On the other hand, GOP leaders are remaining cautious when it comes to Trump’s 2024 campaign, refusing to publicly support him despite his lead in most primary polls.
Last week, Trump launched his 2024 presidential bid with stops at the crucial early-voting states of New Hampshire and South Carolina, which launched his winning 2016 presidential campaign. Republicans, both Trump supporters and critics, say they expect to witness a robust 2024 primary.