Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley on Tuesday officially announced her candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Haley, who also served as South Carolina governor, made the announcement via social media. She joins her former boss, ex-President Donald Trump, as the only two GOP candidates who have declared formally for the race.
"Republicans have lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections. That has to change," Haley, 51, said in a video posted on Twitter and other social media platforms. "[President] Joe Biden's record is abysmal, but that should not 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 to rediscover fiscal responsibility, secure our border, and strengthen our country, our pride and our purpose."
Haley did not mention Trump in her announcement message. Instead, she took aim at progressives and foreign adversaries.
"Some people look at America, and see vulnerability," she said in the video. "The socialist left sees an opportunity to rewrite history. China and Russia are on the march. They all think we can be bullied, kicked around. You should know this about me – I don't put up with bullies. And when you kick back, it hurts them more when you're wearing heels."
Late last month, Trump told WIS-TV that Haley had called him to seek his opinion about a presidential run. The former president pointed out her earlier pledge not to run against him but said he made no attempts to stop her.
"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 said. "So I said, if your heart wants to do it, you have to go do it."
A recent Yahoo/YouGov poll showed that Haley would be a greater hindrance to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' base of potential voters than Trump's.
The poll found that DeSantis (45%) leads Trump (41%) in a hypothetical one-on-one matchup. However, in a three-way matchup, Haley attracted 11% support from Republicans and Republican-leaning voters, compared to 38% for Trump and 35% for DeSantis.
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