Gov. Nikki Haley challenged President Obama and some her own party’s leading voices during a State of the Union rebuttal that will likely elevate her to the top of the list of potential vice presidential contenders.
The South Carolina Republican, speaking from the governor’s mansion in Columbia Tuesday evening, said that Obama has saddled Americans with a healthcare system that doesn’t work and failed in his stewardship of the economy. Obama’s foreign policy, Haley said, has left Americans as vulnerable to domestic terrorism as they’ve been since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, adding that he “appears either unwilling or unable to deal with it.”
“Tonight, President Obama spoke eloquently about grand things. He is at his best when he does that,” the governor said. “Unfortunately, the president’s record has often fallen short of his soaring words.”
Haley also had some choice words for her fellow Republicans.
The governor took a subtle but clear jab at Donald Trump, the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination whom has called for Muslims to be banned from entering the U.S. following the Islamic State-inspired terrorist attacks in San Bernardino, Calif. “No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country,” Haley countered, without mentioning Trump’s name.
Reflecting the deep seeded frustration millions Americans have with Washington, South Carolina’s chief executive also made clear that she believes that Republicans in Congress share responsibility with the Democrats for the voters’ frustration with, and loss of trust in, the federal government. “We as Republicans need to own that truth,” she said. “We need to accept the fact that we’ve played a role in how and why our government is broken.”
At first glance, Haley’s rebuttal appeared to be a smashing political success.
Responding to a president’s State of the Union is fraught with political risk, and has hobbled other rising Republican stars. But initial reviews were positive to off the charts. Haley was praised for her delivery and her eloquent and sharp rhetoric. She displayed an ability to marry an aggressive pitch for conservative values, such as stating that illegal immigration must be stopped, with calls for inclusiveness and respect for people with which Republicans disagree.
For a party that is simultaneously looking for strong leadership and a messenger that can help the GOP appeal to an increasingly diverse electorate that has increasingly sided with the Democratic Party in presidential elections. The performance should immediately elevate the second-term Indian American governor, who is just 43 years old, into top consideration for her party’s vice presidential nod.
Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster, tweeted that Haley’s rebuttal tested higher among his focus group participants than any previous State of the Union response. And she received high praise from Heritage Action for America, a conservative advocacy group.
“Gov. Haley represents the future of a conservative Republican Party,” the group’s CEO, Michael A. Needham, said in a statement. “The governor is right: conservatives have the policies to create opportunity for all Americans, but all too often the bipartisan Washington Establishment has been more interested in preserving the status quo.”
