Former President Donald Trump has some company in going after Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis before he joins the 2024 presidential primary fray.
Nikki Haley, who officially announced her campaign this week, fired her first salvo at the popular governor, saying DeSantis' Parental Rights in Education law "doesn't go far enough."
"Basically, what it said was you shouldn't be able to talk about gender before third grade," Haley told a Thursday town hall in Exeter, New Hampshire, the Independent reported. "I'm sorry, I don't think that goes far enough.
"When I was in school you didn't have sex ed until seventh grade. And even then, your parents had to sign whether you could take the class."
Haley's position is sure to irk many on the left who called DeSantis' law the "Don't Say Gay" bill, including the mainstream media.
DeSantis noted liberal media was attacking the law with bias, because the bill does not use that phrase and only intends to keep educators from indoctrinating impressionable elementary school children.
Haley told Fox News after the town hall, elementary school teachers should not be talking about gender and sexuality at all to their school children.
"I think Ron's been a good governor," Haley said. "I just think that third grade's too young.
"We should not be talking to kids in elementary school about gender, period.
"And if you are going to talk to kids about it, you need to get the parents' permission to do that.
"That is something between a parent and a child," Haley, who has two adult children — one who works as a pediatric nurse, continued. "That is not something that schools need to be teaching."
Haley was the South Carolina governor from 2011 to 2017, and also served as Trump's U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. When she left that post, she had vowed not to run for president in 2020, instead saying she was going to support Trump's reelection.
After officially announcing her candidacy, polls have shown Haley as a third or fourth choice for the GOP nomination. Trump still holds more than a 15-point edge on the field, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average:
- Trump 45.6%.
- DeSantis 30.2%.
- Former Vice President Mike Pence 6.4%.
- Haley 4.6%.
Others showing more than 1% support include former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; Ted Cruz, R-Texas; and Tim Scott, R-S.C.