Nikki Haley has become a leading U.S. voice in the international community as ambassador to the United Nations, and in a profile published Friday she credited President Trump for allowing her to take hardline positions on such issues as the Syrian civil war and tensions with Russia.
“I’m a strong voice by nature. I’m sometimes a bull in a china shop,” she told CNN. “And, you know, he allows me to do that.”
The ambassador described her boss as one who is taking a hands-off approach to her time as the U.S. representative in the U.N., even when she decides to make a scene to make a point. Haley told CNN that it was her decision alone, not that of the White House or State Department, to show photographs of dead children in Syria at the U.N. Security Council.
Haley said she speaks with Trump a couple times a week. “I know what he’s thinking and I just deliver that,” she said.
When she was hired, Haley said she made certain it was known that she didn’t want to be “a wallflower or a talking head” and that she was going to work hard at her job, doing it her own way.
She also said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has not complained about her burgeoning influence.
When asked if she has designs to take Tillerson’s job or even a future run to become a senator or president. Haley repeatedly said “no,” according to CNN.
“Everyone thinks that I’m ambitious and everybody thinks I’m trying to run for something and everybody thinks I want more,” she said. “I can’t imagine running for the White House.”
