Nikki Haley is a Mess of Contradictions

Image source: Getty Images/Win McNamee

On February 24, 2023, Nikki Haley announced her candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, making her the first woman of color to become a major candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.

This is not the first time Haley has made history in her political career. In 2010, she became the first female governor of South Carolina and the first Asian American female governor in the nation’s history (she shares the title of her first woman of color to be elected governor with Susana Martinez). In 2017 she was appointed the United States Ambassador to the United Nations and became the first Indian American member of a presidential cabinet. 

Haley is a trailblazer. But really only in the loosest possible sense of the word, because is she really paving the way for anyone?

Haley often invokes her identity as an Indian American woman from a family of immigrants to position herself as a unique and needed perspective in American politics. Yet she has no desire to improve the conditions of those who face her shared marginalizations, and in fact, spouts rhetoric and endorses policies that actively harm them.   

Haley has spoken openly of her struggles growing up as an Indian American woman. She’s shared the story of her father being racially profiled and having the police called on him while shopping at a fruit stand. She’s written about being cast as Pocahontas in a play in elementary school because her teachers and classmates did not care that she “wasn’t that kind of Indian.” 

In 2004 when she ran for the South Carolina House of Representatives, her opponent Larry Koon sent out campaign mailers that called her a “Buddhist” “housekeeper” (she was raised Sikh and later converted to Christianity) and pictured her with her father wearing his turban. A local newspaper ad claimed “Nimrata N. Randhawa” (her legal first name and maiden name) wasn’t a “REAL Republican.”

Despite the hostility and bigotry that she has been subjected to throughout her life, Haley remains unabashedly dismissive of the notion that such ideologies are woven into the fabric of the United States. 

“Take it from me, the first minority female governor in history: America is not a racist country,” she said in her speech announcing her presidential campaign. The crowd erupted into cheers.

She insists upon this vision of the United States as a racially egalitarian country, yet she has defended the Confederate flag as a symbol that represents “service, sacrifice, and heritage,” disregarding how the heritage of the Confederacy is inextricably tied to slavery and violent racism. 

In addition to the complex and frequently contradictory rhetoric Haley spouts on race, she boasts an equally hypocritical record on women’s issues.

Haley has been subjected to much gendered criticism throughout her career, from frequent commentary on her physical appearance to accusations of her being “overly ambitious.” But Haley has no desire to reckon with the complexities of misogyny and how it has created barriers for women in politics or society at large. In fact, she flat out denied the impact of the patriarchy in her campaign announcement when she declared: “I don’t believe in glass ceilings.” 

One of the only times she has directly accused anyone of misogyny came in her response to a criticism from CNN news anchor Don Lemon, who claimed “Nikki Haley is not in her prime. A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s, 30s, and maybe her 40s.” Haley took to Twitter after his remarks, commenting on the incident that “it’s always the liberals who are the most sexist.” Clearly Haley is able to identify misogyny, but only when those targeting her are from outside her base.

It is also deeply ironic that despite Haley’s insistence on the lack of existing barriers for women, she consistently contributes to creating them. In 2016, as the governor of South Carolina, she signed into law a total abortion ban after 19 weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape or incest. The only exception was if the carrier’s life was threatened. The law also threatened jail time for doctors found in violation of the law. For a woman so committed to control her own destiny, she is quite hellbent on determining the fate of others.

Haley’s road to becoming the Republican nominee is a long one. It looks unlikely at this point that she will, but it’s still too early to count her out. Even if she does not secure the nomination, she could still find herself on the ticket as a running mate– or if there is a Republican victory– back in the presidential cabinet. The sky is truly the limit for Haley, but she’s hardly building a future for anyone to follow in her footsteps.

References

Beck, Glenn & Haley, Nikki. UN Ambassador and Beyond: Always Taking Names. The Glenn Beck Podcast. December 6, 2019. YouTube, 1:00:31. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP_3yrzNoKo.

Brisco, Elise. “Don Lemon back on 'CNN This Morning' following controversy: What he said about Nikki Haley.” USA Today, February 17, 2023, https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2023/02/17/don-lemon-nikki-haley-women-prime-comments-cnn/11279778002/.

Haley, Nikki. Can’t Is Not an Option. New York: Sentinel, 2012. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Can_t_Is_Not_an_Option/f1OCh4wACWEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=long+parade+of+little+boys+dancing+around+me+and+doing+the+American+Indian+hand-to-mouth+call&pg=PT12&printsec=frontcover. 

Haley, Nikki. Watch Nikki Haley's full speech announcing presidential run. NBC News. February 15, 2023. YouTube, 26:03. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c71SwF_iqWY. 

Kruse, Michael & Gold, Sydney. “55 Things You Need to Know About Nikki Haley.” Politico, Politico Magazine, February 14, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/02/14/nikki-haley-2024-bio-what-you-need-to-know-00082742.

Paul, Pamela. “The Serene Hypocrisy of Nikki Haley.” The New York Times, March 2, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/02/opinion/nikki-haley-president.html.

Quarshie, Mabinty. “In 2024 run, Nikki Haley touts role as first woman of color governor. She shares the title.” USA Today, February 21, 2023, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/21/nikki-haley-women-color-governor-martinez-president/11280331002/.  

Reilly, Katie. “South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley Signs Law Banning Abortion After 19 Weeks.” Time, May 25, 2016, https://time.com/4348347/nikki-haley-south-carolina-abortion-law/. 

Wells, Dylan. “Nikki Haley walks fine line on race, gender in appeal to GOP base.” The Washington Post, March 21, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2023/03/20/nikki-haley-race-gender-2024-presidential-gop/.