United States: Now that the days of the South Carolina Republican primary between Nikki Haley and Donald Trump are dwindling, she is being more confrontational that she is the single candidate who can unite Americans, notwithstanding Trump’s recent electoral victories and his popularity in her home state.
Trump’s Dominance in South Carolina
It’s a huge task for her, as South Carolina primaries are going to take place on Saturday. Trump’s primary win in 2016 has bolstered his front-runner position, and he enjoys support from the entire Republican congressional delegation and all state main leaders.
However, Haley has claimed she will stay in the race even long after 12 others have been winnowed out. She says this is because she is in it for the long haul. Her fundraising, which is more than twice the level of Trump Jr.’s, indicates that she will still be battling despite the earlier losses to Trump.
Haley’s argument includes the ongoing display of her expertise in international policy from her two years as Trump’s ambassador to the UN, as more and more of her campaign appearances highlight situations in which she claims she would have behaved differently from her former employer.
International Relations and Security Concerns
“I will absolutely put the hammer on our NATO countries that they do have to carry their weight, but you do that behind closed doors,” Haley said Sunday during a town hall on Fox News, broadcast from a venue in downtown Columbia, South Carolina.
The vocabulary used in this statement should be changed to American English. It is a consequence of his words during the election campaign at a rally last month when he said that “he would be glad to push them” to do as they want Russia (i.e. invade countries) that do not pay their share (i.e. those who are “delinquent” in NATO). NATO’s leader said that the criticism the US President has made on international alliances and foreign aid could possibly undermine security and lead to higher risk of American and European troop engagement.
“We should make sure we tell our partners it’s in their best interest to hold their own weight,” Haley said Sunday. She said, “Trump did it by saying he was going to encourage Putin to invade our allies. That’s the wrong way.”
Campaign Ad Unveiled
In the ad, Haley is defending her arguments about herself in TV and $6 million announced by her during the last weeks, before election day.
In “Unite,” which debuts on Monday and whose earlier version has been provided with The Associated Press, Haley maintains that she is the only viable option in the potent candidates’ lineups who could handle crises with foreign heads of government in a way that would help America maintain stability outside.
“When your enemies think you’re weak, your leader must be strong,” a narrator says, over images of foreign leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “When your country is divided, your president must unite us.”
The ad argues that Haley “provided moral clarity during our darkest hours” over headlines from coverage of the racist slaying of nine Black parishioners at a Charleston church in 2015, during Haley’s second term as South Carolina governor. “What’s next? That’s up to you.”
Haley’s Underdog Stance
After Sunday’s debate, Haley (as she has all during her campaign) says, “I’m O.K. being the underdog now”. She has been a staunch critic of Trump’s presidency (and says the voters would see the correct choice in her presidency) in order to help shift the nation to a better direction away from “the chaos” she believes she sees since Trump’s presidency. Similarly, she often stresses that while Trump won early races, she has been around a growing trend, citing the markedly diminishing margins between her totals and Trump’s for the 2016 caucus in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Haley also asked for a Democratic-leaning South Carolina voter while a primary vote was yet to come on Saturday.
She said that the turnout for the Feb. 3 primary saw only about 5% of eligible voters statewide with all the votes, and the general public then can vote. She tried to get crossover support from people who want to vote against Trump.