Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Sunday dodged questions about how she will be different from former President Donald Trump, instead deflecting by saying that she is focused on defeating President Joe Biden.
"I don't focus on President Trump," Haley told "Fox News Sunday" when asked why a Republican should chose her over Trump. "It's amazing that the media wants to talk about that so much. I am focused on Joe Biden."
Haley slightly touched on the issue in the Sunday interview, saying, "I think we need new energy going in. I think we need to leave the status quo of the past and start looking ahead."
But in general when Fox News host Shannon Bream, who conducted the interview, tried to pin Haley down, the former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations made statements that avoided a direct answer.
Bream noted that The Wall Street Journal editorial board released an article last week stating that Haley had a "great" campaign rollout, but she has yet to provide a rationale for her candidacy that makes her stand out from Trump and her other potential rivals.
When Bream asked Haley, "Why you?," the presidential candidate asked, "Why not me?" and then talked about her personal story, giving a standard review of her belief in term limits, battling "woke education," and addressing the "socialism" and "defeatism" that she said have taken root in American society.
Haley became the first Republican last Wednesday to officially challenge Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
Trump, who announced his candidacy soon after November's midterm elections, has criticized Haley for previously saying she would not run if Trump sought the presidency in 2024, according to The Hill.
"I would not run if President Trump ran," Haley said two years ago. "And I would talk to him about it. That is something that we'll have a conversation about at some point, if that decision is something that has to be made."
But Trump has welcomed her entry into the race, saying "the more the merrier." Most experts agree that the wider the GOP primary field for the 2024 presidency, the more difficult it will be for a candidate to defeat Trump.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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