Nikki Haley is an “outlier” among the candidates vying to run against President Biden in the 2024 general election, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told The Post on Friday, after launching his “Never Nikki” initiative.
The anti-endorsement aims to define the former South Carolina governor as a “Big Government” Republican with little concern for fiscal responsibility or civil liberties – key issues for the libertarian senator – ahead of the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.
“I want to be very clear that no libertarian or conservative considers her one of us,” Paul told The Post, arguing that there is a “clear difference” between Haley, 51, and the rest of the GOP mainstream “in the sense that she very enthusiastic about foreign aid and most enthusiastic about sending more money to Ukraine.”
Paul, who previously endorsed former President Donald Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns, was not yet ready Friday to make a final announcement about who he’s supporting in 2024, but he’s certain it won’t be Haley.
He said his “Never Nikki” campaign – which included launching a website attacking some of her policy positions – was “sort of the beginning of the process of me getting involved” in the 2024 race.
Paul’s website “Never Nikki” sharply criticized the former South Carolina governor. Rand Paul, /X
“One thing I am sure of is that Nikki Haley does not represent the libertarian wing or the fiscally conservative wing of the Republican Party,” Paul said.
“I think he represents ‘Big Government,’ like the Mitch McConnell, Dick Cheney, John McCain wing of the GOP,” he argued.
Paul specifically cited Haley’s November proposal to force social media users to verify their identity before posting and her October debate statement about wanting a “Department of Crime” over the Defense Department as rhetoric that “worries people like me.”
“No libertarian I’ve met has come to me and said they like Nikki Haley,” Paul said. “The idea that you have to register your name with the government to participate [on social media] … that alone would have libertarians room to room.”
He added that Haley’s proposed social media reforms “disqualify him with libertarian-leaning Republicans” and he slammed the candidate’s apparent lack of “historical knowledge to know that almost every one of our founders wrote anonymously and under pseudonyms out of fear of government.”
Paul teased that depending on the outcome of the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15, he may have “a lot more to say next week” about who he’ll back in 2024.
“There is a clear possibility that I will confirm before New Hampshire,” he said.
“I think she represents ‘Big Government,’ like the Mitch McConnell, Dick Cheney, John McCain wing of the GOP,” Paul said of Haley. BACKGRID
“While I’m not kidding myself that my endorsement will suddenly change the race, I think I can make an impact in New Hampshire,” Paul said.
Haley’s polls in both Iowa and New Hampshire have surged in recent months, with the RealClearPolitics polling average showing the former UN ambassador running in second place in both primary states.
With 17.8% support, Haley leads Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, 45, in the Hawkeye State by 2 points but trails Trump by 35 points.
In the Granite State, where voters will go to the polls on Jan. 23, Haley is closer to the 77-year-old former president, trailing him by about 14 points, and she leads DeSantis by 18 points.
Paul said he would have to “reevaluate” whether to support Haley over Biden and third-party candidates if she wins the GOP nomination, but added, “Hopefully my influence won’t cost her the nomination.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
