10 Things To Know About Republican Presidential Candidate Nikki Haley

Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and US ambassador to the United Nations, announced she was running for president on February 14, 2023. She is the first woman of color to become a candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination.

Here are things you may not know about the probable future President of the USA.

1. Nikki Haley had these conditions when Trump asked her to be his Ambassador to the United Nations

She said that as she had already been a governor she was not going to work for anybody else but Trump himself. She also called herself the "policy girl" and said that she needed to be in the room when national security decisions were made, that she was not going to be a "wallflower" and needed to be able to speak her mind. Trump reportedly agreed to all her conditions.

2. Her response to George Floyd's killing

Nikki Haley said that it, "needs to be personal and painful for everyone." Tucker Carlson objected to this and said, "Why is some politician telling me I’m required to be upset about it?" “What Nikki Haley does best is moral blackmail," he added.

"We spent the last couple of days celebrating our son’s graduation. Tonight I turned on the news and am heartbroken. It’s important to understand that the death of George Floyd was personal and painful for many. In order to heal, it needs to be personal and painful for everyone," Nikki had tweeted. 

3. Nikki Haley's stand for immigrants

In November 2022, she suggested that Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock should be deported. "I am the daughter of Indian immigrants," she said. "Legal immigrants are more patriotic than the leftists these days. They knew they worked to come to America and they loved America. They want the laws followed in America so the only person we need to make sure we deport is Warnock," Nikki Haley added.

4. She takes being called "ambitious" as a compliment

Nikki Haley was tagged as the "most ambitious" person by Mick Mulvaney, who is the former Congressman from South Carolina and Trump's White House chief of staff. She responded, saying, "If being ambitious is good at your job, then fine, you can call me ambitious."  "I will just consider myself a badass," she added.

5. Haley's response to Obama

Haley gave a GOP-styled response to Obama's final State of the Union speech back in January 2016. "During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation." She added, "No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country."

6. The reason she actually ran for office is because of Hillary Clinton

Nikki Haley once told the New York Times how everybody would only give her reasons why she would not run. "I was too young, I had small children, I should start at the school board level, they said." 

"I went to Birmingham University, and Hillary Clinton was the keynote speaker on a leadership institute, and she said that when it comes to women running for office, there will be everybody that tells you why you shouldn’t, but that’s all the reasons why we need you to do it, and I walked out of there thinking, ‘That’s it. I’m running for office.'"

7. Her parents wanted her to marry an Indian

Nikki Haley got married to Michael Haley whom she met at Clemson University. However, her mother reportedly said that this was "just not acceptable." She told her parents that if they deem that Michael is unfit to marry her and if they can find somebody who will love her more than him, she is ready to listen to them. The couple got married in 1996 and welcomed their daughter in 1998 and son in 2001. 

8. She had no foreign policy experience or expertise

When Nikki Haley moved to New York for the UN job, she simply had no expertise in the field of policymaking and had never lived north of Charlotte. She stepped down at the end of 2018 and the New York Times described her exit as one of the rarest of Trump appointees who exited with their dignity largely intact.

9. Margaret Thatcher and Joan Jett are  her role models

In addition to Clinton inspiring her to run for office Nikki Haley always looked up to Margaret Thatcher, Martina Navratilova, Gabby Giffords, and Joan Jett. She said that Jett was one of the first female rockers when female rockers were simply not accepted. "You broke every stereotype there was, and you were criticized and isolated for it. You never gave up and in turn, reminded me to never give up," she wrote to Jett in her book, " "If You Want Something Done: Leadership Lessons from Bold Women."

10. Nikki Haley insisted the Confederate flag be removed in the aftermath of Dylann Roof’s massacre

She asked to remove the flag from the monument hiring CSA soldiers. This helped her bag a position on TIME magazine's list of 100 Most Influential People in the World. "Nikki Haley led with determination, grace and compassion," wrote Lindsey Graham.