Nikki Haley has said she “adores” Margaret Thatcher and praised the UK’s first female Prime Minister as the “ultimate Iron Lady”. Haley, 51, has previously waded in on other aspects of British politics as she lauded the “special relationship” and threw her weight behind the UK’s Brexit “experiment”.
However, speaking to the Telegraph about Thatcher, Haley said: “I adore her.”
She added: “I’ve written about her in books and speeches. She was the ultimate Iron Lady.”
The former UN Ambassador launched her White House bid on Tuesday and held her rally in Charleston on Wednesday.
During her launch event, hundreds of supporters chanted “USA! USA!” and “Nikki! Nikki!”
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Haley took aim at Joe Biden as she called for generational change in Washington.
She also denounced those who do not celebrate the US, declaring: “Take it from me, the first female minority governor in history: America is not a racist country.”
Haley is the daughter of Indian immigrants and served as the Palmetto State’s Governor between 2011 and 2017.
However, a former Donald Trump ally went as far as to compare Haley to Thatcher.
Ralph Norman, a congressman from South Carolina who is a member of the Freedom Caucus, said: “It was in 1979 that Britain elected the first woman Prime Minister.
“She was known as the Iron Lady because of her bold leadership.
“I believe Nikki Haley is America’s version of Margaret Thatcher. Nikki will be a leader with an iron fist in a velvet glove.”
Trump, who announced he would run in his third successive White House bid last November, also holds Thatcher in high regard.
During a meeting with ex-Prime Minister Theresa May, the 45th POTUS chatted about his “shared admiration” for Thatcher.
Trump also urged his former counterpart to walk away from negotiations with the European Union and praised the UK’s Brexit vote as a “great victory”.
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