Indian-American Nikki Haley To Run For US President, Becomes Trump's First Challenger

Nikki Haley is the first Republican to publicly oppose Trump for the GOP nomination in 2024.

Former South Carolina Republican Governor Nikki Haley

Source : File Photo/AFP

New Delhi: Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and ambassador to the United Nations under Donald Trump, declared her intention to run for president on Tuesday.

Haley is the first Republican to publicly oppose Trump for the GOP nomination in 2024.

Get excited! Time for a new generation.

Let’s do this! 👊 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/BD5k4WY1CP

— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 14, 2023

In a video that was made available online, Haley stated, "It’s time for a new generation of leadership." "I'm Nikki Haley, and I'm running for president," she added.

"It's time for a new generation of leadership -- to rediscover fiscal responsibility, secure our border, and strengthen our country, our pride and our purpose," she said.

Haley, a Trump administration veteran, started out as an underdog in the GOP race. She would be the first Asian American woman and the first woman to lead the Republican ticket if she succeeds. She was also the first Indian American to serve in the Cabinet, making history as the nation's first female Asian American governor.

Over the years, Haley's attitude toward Trump has changed. She criticised him when he first ran for office in 2016, but she later joined his administration and promised not to challenge him in 2024. 

Last year, Trump made an additional bid for the White House. When Haley resigned in 2018, she had been Trump's US ambassador to the UN for nearly two years.

Before joining the Trump administration, Haley served as the governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, when she resigned to take a position at the United Nations. She was the first woman to hold that position.

The 51-year-old Republican is the first in a long line of Republicans who are anticipated to campaign in the coming months. Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott are among them. Putting an end to any competition for the Democratic nomination, President Joe Biden has stated that he will run for reelection in 2024. Haley has frequently boasted, "I've never lost an election, and I'm not going to start now," about her track record of defying political expectations.