Nikki Haley, a potential 2024 front-runner for the GOP nomination, spoke at a Republican National Committee dinner in Florida late Thursday night following the riots, protests, and deaths that made Wednesday one of the most tumultuous days at the Capitol in recent history. Haley, President Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations and former governor of South Carolina, was unafraid to chastise Trump and the GOP for their failures while encouraging her party to look ahead.
“President Trump has not always chosen the right words,” she said. “He was wrong with his words in Charlottesville, and I told him so at the time. He was badly wrong with his words [on Wednesday]. And it wasn’t just his words. His actions since Election Day will be judged harshly by history.”
“[Wednesday] was a terribly sad day for our country,” Haley added. “The violence and lawlessness at the Capitol was un-American. There is no excuse for it. We should all denounce it in the strongest terms. America is better than this. And we must do better than this.”
Haley spared few groups when addressing the nation’s raucous political atmosphere that led to the riots that occurred around the Capitol building on Wednesday. “I’m not just talking about Republicans. I’m talking about everyone who has inflamed the American people’s passions beyond constructive boundaries,” Haley said.
It wasn’t the first time Haley condemned the riots. While rioters were still inside the Capitol wreaking havoc on Wednesday, Haley tweeted:
Every American has the right to peacefully protest. What’s happening right now at the U.S. Capitol building is wrong and un-American. We are better than that.
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) January 6, 2021
Haley also scolded the GOP for how it got to this state of chaos: “The day before, we had a Republican disaster in Georgia. As a result, Democrats will control the House, the Senate, and the White House for the next two years. That’s a tough reality for us. But we have some decisions to make about the political predicament we’re in. We can whine about it. We can complain about it. We can blame each other for it. Or we can do something about it. If you ask me, there’s no whining in politics. There’s only choosing. My choice is to stand for America. And I hope everyone in this room will buckle up and join me.”
Her comments are surprising. In his 2019 review of her book, With All Due Respect, in the Atlantic, David Frum labeled it a “gamble that the future of the Republican Party looks a lot like Trump.” Conservatives have long wondered if Haley will depart from Trump’s shadow and, if so, how much space she’ll leave between the two of them.
On Thursday night, Haley praised Trump’s accomplishments and “extraordinary gains” made during his time in office, but she also stood firm on the outcome of the election. “We can believe two things at the same time. One is that Joe Biden won the election. The other is that we urgently need better election security.”
Haley didn’t just lambast Trump or Republicans. She also called out the massive government spending Congress spearheaded in the name of relief. “The government funding bill that Congress passed two weeks ago was a disgrace. It was shackled to pandemic relief and shoved through before anyone could read it. Now, we know why. It was filled with wasteful spending we can’t afford. A study on whether hot tubs reduce stress — we all could have told them that. A bailout for Tunisian chambers of commerce. Funding for ‘gender programs’ in Pakistan. It’s insulting. America’s national debt is $28 trillion and counting. Congress needs to remember whose money they’re spending. It’s not their money. It’s the American people’s money. No more excuses.”
Following her conservative roots, Haley observed that socialism has become a hallmark of many Democrats’ policy positions. “The party of Joe Biden demands greater government control over everything … Socialism is not the answer. Capitalism is. Capitalism is the greatest anti-poverty program in the history of the world — and it is synonymous with American freedom. We must defend that freedom for the sake of our children,” she said. The message previewed what may become a 2024 attack line from Haley against Biden or Kamala Harris should Haley choose to run for president.
The possible 2024 front-runner concluded her speech to the RNC on an optimistic note, hopeful that tragic days like Wednesday will not happen again anytime soon. “As sad and upsetting as yesterday was, we will only be defined by it if we don’t learn from it. When our children and grandchildren ask us about Jan. 6, 2021, let it be the day America vowed to be better.”
Nicole Russell (@russell_nm) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.
