Nikki Haley launches 2024 Republican presidential bid, first challenge to Trump

Former UN Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has said that she will seek the GOP presidential nomination in 2024, becoming the first Republican to officially challenge former President Donald Trump for the GOP’s 2024 nomination.

Haley, who served as US ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, announced her bid in a video on Tuesday, calling for new leadership in the party, following unsatisfactory results for the Republicans in the recent midterm elections.

"I'm Nikki Haley and I'm running for president," Haley said in the video that her team sent out by email.

“Republicans have lost the popular vote in seven out of the last eight presidential elections. That has to change,” Haley, 51, said.

“Joe Biden’s record is abysmal, but that shouldn’t 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,” she added.

She will lay out her campaign plans in a speech in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday. Her entrance into the race has been expected for months.

With the announcement, Haley became Trump's first direct challenger in a Republican field expected to grow in the coming weeks and months. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, US Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson also are planning to join the race.

“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 said in her video.

She has taken a swipe at the Joe Biden administration’s foreign policy mishaps, urging the Democratic president to resign.

ME