New Delhi: Indian-American Republican politician Nikki Haley on Thursday sent out invitations for a “special announcement” on February 15 wherein she is expected to declare her 2024 US presidential run. If she enters the race, she will be the first Republican contender to join the contest against former US President Donald Trump, who is currently the sole GOP candidate seeking the party’s 2024 nomination.
In an email and various social media posts on Wednesday, she posted an invitation that read, “Join Nikki Haley for Special Announcement.”
Haley, 51, is the two-term Governor of South Carolina and the former US Ambassador to the United Nations.
Former US president Donald Trump, 76, launched his White House bid last year.
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The Washington Post reported that Haley could release a video pertaining to her plans as soon as this week.
Haley’s advertised “special announcement” will come on February 15 at The Shed at the Charleston Visitor Center, a downtown gathering spot that could witness hundreds of supporters into the heart of the city’s tourism district.
“The confirmation that she is entering the race came on January 31 from a member of Haley’s inner circle,” the Charleston, a South Carolina-based daily reported.
Haley had said previously that she would not look to challenge Trump if he ran again, but there has been an apparent change in her stance in recent times as she said the US needs to look toward a different path.
“It’s time for a new generation,” she tweeted recently.
In an interview with Fox News last month, Nikki Haley emphasised the US needs a “new leader” who can take the country in a new direction.
“But when you’re looking at a run for president, you look at two things. You first look at, does the current situation push for new leadership? The second question is, am I that person that could be that new leader, that, yes, we need to go in a new direction? And can I be that leader? Yes, I think I can be that leader,” Haley said in that interview.
She also stressed that President Joe Biden, a Democrat, should not be given a second term.
At the age of 80, Biden is the oldest sitting US President.
The next US presidential election is scheduled to be held on November 5, 2024.
Haley was born Nimrata Randhawa to Ajit Singh Randhawa and mother Raj Kaur Randhawa, who had emigrated from Punjab to Canada and then to the US in the 1960s.
Her father was a professor at the Punjab Agricultural University, and her mother received a law degree from the Delhi University.