Nikki Haley is expected to officially announce her intention to run for president in 2024 at an event with supporters later this month. The former US Ambassador to the UN had long been teasing a potential campaign for the Republican nomination despite having previously stated she would not run against former boss Donald Trump. Haley is tipped to make her official announcement in Charleston on February 15.
In interviews over the weekend, Haley said “things have changed” and the time had come for new leadership in the Grand Old Party (GOP).
The former Ambassador is set to send out an invite to backers teasing a “special announcement” during her planned appearance at The Shed at the Charleston Visitor Center, a venue with a capacity for over a hundred potential supporters.
While claiming in Spring 2021 that she would not run in 2024 if Donald Trump were to be seeking re-election, Haley has exponentially increased her footprint on social media over the past year and appeared in several interviews across national media.
Known for harbouring presidential aspirations for well over a decade, she becomes the second leading Republican to throw her hat into the ring for the nomination.
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Over the weekend, she appeared to confirm her plans as she insisted she could be the right leader to bring the GOP together into reclaiming the White House.
During an interview with Fox News, host Brett Baier asked: “When you’re looking at a run for president, you look at two things.
“You first look at does the current situation push for new leadership? The second question is, ‘Am I that person that could be that new leader?’”
Haley said: “Yes, we need to go in a new direction. And can I be that leader? Yes. I think I can be that leader.”
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During the Trump administration, Haley feuded at times with other White House officials while bolstering her own public persona.
Her 2018 departure fueled speculation that she would challenge Trump in 2020, or replace Vice President Mike Pence on the ticket, but Haley did neither.
Instead, Haley returned to South Carolina, where she bought a home on Kiawah Island, joined the board of aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co. and launched herself on the speaking circuit, reportedly commanding fees as high as $200,000.
She penned two books, a step commonly taken by many on the road toward the White House.
