Haley and Noem differ in Trump’s approach when 2024 Jockeying begins

Although the two women have similarities in their political biographies – both were the first governors of their states after serving in state legislatures – how they interacted with Trump and his legacy is shaping his initial position in the prospective presidential field.

Mrs. Haley, a South Carolina woman who criticized Trump before becoming a United Nations ambassador for two years, sometimes distanced herself from the former president, essentially continuing the approach she took when she disagreed with him during his administration.

Ms. Noem, South Dakota’s first-term governor, has been closely associated with Trump. On Friday, she was scheduled to appear in Palm Beach, Florida, a fundraiser for her 2022 reelection campaign. Trump’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr. is presenting the US reception cocktail. $ 1,000 per person in Mar-a-Lago, along with his girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle.

As president, Trump visited Mount Rushmore in South Dakota before Independence Day last summer and appeared with Noem. As part of the visit, she presented him with a bronze miniature of the monument depicting him alongside former presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

Ms. Noem, who represented her state in Congress for eight years before becoming governor, also received political advice from an aide to the former president. Corey Lewandowski, who managed part of Trump’s first presidential campaign, accompanied Noem in early January at a meeting of the Republican National Committee in Florida.

Haley also attended the RNC meeting shortly after the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill by a pro-Trump crowd. She caused significantly bigger waves there, using her speech to praise Trump’s achievements in office and criticize his behavior after his defeat in the November elections, when he repeatedly claimed he had defeated President Biden.

“Your actions since election day will be judged harshly by history,” she told RNC members. “It is deeply disappointing.”

In a recent interview with Politico, she attacked Mr. Trump even more. “I don’t think he’s going to show up,” said Haley of his future role in the party. “I don’t think he can. He fell so far. “

Gail Gitcho, a Republican Party strategist and former director of communications for the Republican Governors Association, said Haley’s work during the Trump administration has made her “a kind of conservative darling” across the country.

“However, since Trump’s defeat, she has criticized him, so she is clearly seeing a different path than many other candidates,” she said. “Governor Noem appears to be following a more conventional path, which recognizes Trump’s continued popularity among Republican voters in the primaries.”

More women may emerge as potential presidential candidates for the Republican Party for 2024, as the camp is likely to have a clearer focus after next year’s midterm elections.

During an appearance at last weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida, Ms. Noem mentioned the former president in the first 90 seconds of her speech. In her comments, she presented her almost nonexistent approach to the coronavirus pandemic, a style of government that charmed some conservatives.

“Covid did not crush the economy. The government crushed the economy, ”she said. “I don’t believe that governors have the authority to tell you that your business is not essential.”

Ms. Noem also fought the masks’ mandates and encouraged a major motorcycle rally in her state last August, which attracted hundreds of thousands of people, generating complaints from some that she helped spread the virus nationally.

Although national public health data criticized Noem’s approach and pointed to the high rate of infections per capita in his state, the pandemic helped to raise the governor among conservatives at a time when Haley is not in office.

Ms. Noem finished second in a CPAC poll with potential candidates for the 2,024 presidency, behind Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, when Trump was not included on the list. She received support from 11% of participants, while Ms. Haley was supported by 3%.

Mr. Trump joked during his own CPAC appearance that he could run for the third time for the presidency, a possibility that could freeze the field of potential candidates.

Haley was invited to speak at the conservative meeting, but an aide said she had a previous obligation. She declined an interview request.

Ian Fury, Noem’s spokesman, said in an e-mailed statement responding to an interview request that she has no ambitions in the Oval Office. “As Governor Noem has said many times, she has no interest in running for president,” he said. “She expects the people of South Dakota to trust her to serve as governor for another four years.”

Haley is already at the top of many Republican Party lists as a potential national candidate, in part because her biography as the daughter of Indian immigrants could provide a compelling narrative for a Republican Party often labeled by critics as anti-immigrant under Trump.

So far, Haley has managed to stay above the fray of Republican struggles in Washington because, unlike almost half of the nearly 20 people on the unofficial lists of possible candidates for 2,024, she is not in the U.S. Senate. It also means that she has rarely faced tough questions from reporters in recent months and has not had to vote on controversial issues such as impeachment.

His Twitter feed includes almost daily criticism of President Biden, as well as themes popular with the conservative base of the Republican Party. Haley is also building the kind of political organization that presidential candidates create before announcing his intentions.

Haley recently hired the former political director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee to manage her new Stand for America political action committee, an entity that will allow her to participate in half-term disputes, expand her donor network and make political friends in All country. She also leads a similarly named nonprofit that focuses on conservative policies.

In addition to her political and political work, Ms. Haley gives lectures to corporate clients and others who can pay up to $ 200,000 each.

Write to John McCormick at [email protected]