President Donald Trump’s incitement to riots in the U.S. Capitol building crumbled his future White House bid, supporting other potential Republican candidates to take the party’s reins and run for president in 2024.
One prospect, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, gained a foothold in the national spotlight by condemning Trump for his behavior after the 2020 presidential election and the attack on the Capitol, distancing himself from the Republican Party president’s version.
“President Trump did not always choose the right words,” Haley said during a private appearance at the annual meeting of the Republican National Committee in early January, a source told POLITICO. “He was wrong with his words in Charlottesville, and I told him that at the time. He was very wrong with his words yesterday. And it wasn’t just his words. Your actions since election day will be judged harshly by history. ”
Haley added that the GOP must “take personal responsibility” for the disruption that flooded the party.
She also announced last week that she was launching a conservative political action committee called Stand for America PAC, which is focused on the midterm evidence of 2022 and promised to “recruit, advise, train and financially support strong conservatives to run for the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate rushes to regain control of both chambers ”- an initiative that has heightened current speculation about a Haley 2024 presidential race. The PAC website, however, does not support Trump, Haley’s former chief, despite serving in his government for about two years.
But a spokesman for Haley’s team said the sole aim of the PAC effort is to change both chambers to red in next year’s election.
“Haley frequently and proudly mentions his work alongside President Trump in speeches and writings. The aim of the SFA PAC is to support Republicans in the 2022 midterm elections, ”the spokesman told Axios.
Haley is seen as a rising political figure by the Republican Party since 2010, when she was elected governor of South Carolina at the age of thirty-eight, becoming the first Indian American to hold office in the state and quickly won re-election in 2014 .
Experts have suggested that Republican candidates like Haley are “better positioned” to win the 2024 nomination and potentially the general election.
Dr. Patrick Fisher, professor of political science at Seton Hall University, said there will be three types of Republican presidential candidates in 2024: the “Always Trumpers”, the “Never Trumpers” and the “Kinda Sorta Trumpers”.
Called “Kinda Sorta Trumpers,” said Fisher, “Nikki Haley falls into this field. Those in this field will embrace Trumpism when it is useful, but everyone tries to appeal to moderates to broaden the base of the Republican Party, ”adding that another example would be Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida).
“Right now, I would say that this camp is better positioned to win both the nomination and the [the] general elections in 2024, ”said Fisher.
Potential candidates like Republican Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Josh Hawley (Mo.) would be classified as “Always Trumpers”, as they remained fervently loyal to the president and are reluctant to criticize the attacks on Capitol by Trump’s supporters such as the mafia.
And the “Never Trumpers,” like Senator Mitt Romney (Utah) and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, are the ones who have completely distanced themselves from Trump and his ideals, pushing for a revised party.
“Always Trumpers will have a very difficult life [time] winning the general election, and I would be very surprised if a Never Trumper could win the Republican Party nomination, ”said Fisher.
While Haley garnered only 5% of respondent support in a Morning Consult-POLITICO 2024 Republican presidential primary poll released last week, Haley’s support was not far behind other alleged prominent candidates like Donald Trump Jr., Cruz and Romney . But their support was well below that of Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, as they were the only candidates to achieve double-digit margins.
Rachel Bucchino is a reporter for National Interest. His work appeared in The Washington Post, US News & World Report and The hill.
Image: Reuters