Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R), who also served as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. during Donald Trump’s administration, on Tuesday announced she is running for president.
Haley is the first Republican to declare a challenge against former President Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination. Trump announced his candidacy in November.
“Republicans have lost the popular vote in seven out of the last eight presidential elections,” Haley said in a slickly produced video posted on Twitter. “That has to change.”
She added: “It’s time for a new generation of leadership.”
Haley previously said she wouldn’t run for president if it meant challenging Trump. She didn’t mention the former president in her announcement video.
Last month, Trump told reporters Haley had informed him that she was considering a run.
“I said, ‘You should do it,’” Trump said. “I talked to her for a little while. I said, ‘Look, you know, go by your heart if you want to run.’”
In the video, Haley blasted “the socialist left” for trying to “rewrite history,” and said American adversaries, like Russia and China, think the U.S. is vulnerable.
“You should know this about me: I don’t put up with bullies,” she said. “And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels.”
Haley, the daughter of two Indian immigrants, was first elected governor of South Carolina in 2010, becoming the first woman and person of color to lead the state. She was reelected in 2014, but left halfway through her term to serve in Trump’s Cabinet.
Haley had teased a “big announcement” at an event scheduled for Wednesday in Charleston, South Carolina.
Other Republicans considering 2024 campaigns include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
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