Nikki Haley launches 2024 Republican presidential bid, first challenge to Trump

Former UN Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has said that she will seek the GOP presidential nomination in 2024, becoming the first Republican to officially challenge former President Donald Trump for the GOP’s 2024 nomination.

Haley, who served as US ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, announced her bid in a video on Tuesday, calling for new leadership in the party, following unsatisfactory results for the Republicans in the recent midterm elections.

"I'm Nikki Haley and I'm running for president," Haley said in the video that her team sent out by email.

“Republicans have lost the popular vote in seven out of the last eight presidential elections. That has to change,” Haley, 51, said.

“Joe Biden’s record is abysmal, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Washington establishment has failed us over and over and over again. It’s time for a new generation of leadership,” she added.

She will lay out her campaign plans in a speech in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday. Her entrance into the race has been expected for months.

With the announcement, Haley became Trump's first direct challenger in a Republican field expected to grow in the coming weeks and months. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, US Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson also are planning to join the race.

“It’s time for a new generation of leadership – to rediscover fiscal responsibility, secure our border, and strengthen our country, our pride and our purpose," Haley said in her video.

She has taken a swipe at the Joe Biden administration’s foreign policy mishaps, urging the Democratic president to resign.

On Tuesday, also laid out her foreign policy preferences against China and Russia.

"China and Russia are on the march. They all think we can be bullied, kicked. You should know this about me: I don’t put up with bullies. And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels," she declared.

In an interview with Fox News in January, Haley said that the US needed a new generation to step up in 2024 and indicated to offer herself as a potential leader.  

“It’s bigger than one person. And when you’re looking at the future of America, I think it’s time for new generational change. I don’t think you need to be 80 years old to go be a leader in D.C.,” Haley told the broadcaster. “I think we need a young generation to come in, step up, and really start fixing things.”

Last month, 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.

Trump on February 2 mocked Haley on his Truth Social platform, noting she had earlier said she would support Trump if he ran in 2024.

“Nikki has to follow her heart, not her honor. She should definitely run!” he wrote.

Nikki Haley rips into Trump: 'He's fallen so far'

Nikki Haley, a high-profile Republican and once a close ally to former US President Donald Trump, has blasted him, saying, "He

She previously said the former Republican president had let them down. "We need to acknowledge he let us down."

Haley criticized him for lying to his supporters, inciting his loyalists to "stop the steal" by launching the deadly January 6, 2021 attack on Capitol Hill.

Haley was South Carolina’s first-ever female governor and America’s second-ever Asian-American governor.

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