There’s little political daylight between Donald Trump and Nikki Haley

Is Nikki Haley a centrist Republican? Is it like they were doing before Donald Trump took over the Republican Party and destroyed the traditional conservative order?

That may be true in terms of message and attitude, but not in terms of policy. She is a hardliner when it comes to the use of military force and is by no means soft on government aid. She recently refused to support a bipartisan effort in Congress to expand the child tax credit for low-income families and, as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, provided critical aid to Palestinians even after visiting refugees. They wanted to cut off funding to the UN agencies that support them. Camping and feeling the need.

As a presidential appointee, she was adept at getting around the White House gatekeepers and securing face time with President Trump. Then-Chief of Staff John Kelly had to scramble to summon then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to a meeting with the president in the Oval Office to counter Haley’s push for a funding hike. did not become.

During her campaign, Ms. Haley vowed to cut funding from the United Nations as much as possible, stopping short of saying she would withdraw the United States from the international organization. Although she supports aid to Ukraine, she is on par with hardliners in her party on most other issues, both domestic and international.

She never really disagreed with any of President Trump’s policies and he was the right president at the moment, but that moment has passed, so it’s time for someone who is not yet 80 years old to lead the country. The criticism was directed at President Joe. Biden.

But by winning “nearly half the vote” in New Hampshire (her hallmark of the 44 percent she got to Trump’s 55.3 percent), suburban women, college-educated voters, and Trump It exposes Trump’s vulnerability among independents who are looking for someone more moderate. , a persona that goes beyond the culmination of policy.

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Jack Pitney, a professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College, says, “The low bar to be called a moderate is not to say bad things about people and not to incite rebellion.” “She’s a moderate by the standards of the South Carolina legislature, but her positions could give Biden a lot of leverage in the general election.”

Haley strongly defended the display of the Confederate flag throughout her career, but after the 2015 massacre at Mother Emanuel AME Church made that impossible and drew national attention, she changed tack and decided to raise the Confederate flag at the state Capitol. He received praise for moving the flag outside the grounds.

That was probably the first time she became a moderate. While she was campaigning in New Hampshire last month, she stumbled upon her question about the causes of the Civil War, which she answered was about the role of government. She then added slavery as a reason only when requested, and then she reiterated that the United States is not and has never been a racist country.

Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, said the correct term for Haley’s moderates is “process moderates.” Haley stands alone and proud in a Republican Party where 80% of those who voted for Trump in New Hampshire believe Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him. She recognizes that Biden was legitimately elected and supports the Constitution and the rule of law.

Mr. Trump’s angry rant after his landslide victory in New Hampshire was “an expression of his sexism,” Mr. Kamarck said. “Women get under his skin more than men do.” President Trump insisted that Haley appeared on the media stage before him, wearing a sparkling blue dress with a double-digit difference of just seven points. I was furious that I looked like a winner wearing one. He called her a “con artist” and said he couldn’t let her “get away with her bullshit.”

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Kamarck disagrees with analysts who question Haley’s decision to stay in the race as she faces possible humiliation in the Feb. 24 primary in her home state of South Carolina. If her funds do not run out, she will serve as a useful backup. A glass-breaking candidate, she could win some delegates and step in if there were a legal or health crisis that derailed Trump. There is enough uncertainty surrounding Trump that Haley’s rationale could buy her some time.

And if this situation ends up as most analysts predict, with Haley supporting Trump before and after South Carolina, and Trump losing in the November election, “she’s the candidate I said she was.” ,” Kamarck said. “And even if he wins, he’ll only be there for four years. She’ll be 56! (Hailey just turned 52 this month) Her staying in the house really pisses him off. ing.”

The next four weeks leading up to South Carolina will test Haley’s ability to survive as a Rebel candidate.

This is reminiscent of the 2016 Democratic campaign, when Bernie Sanders remained in the race long after it became mathematically impossible for him to catch up with Hillary Clinton in the required number of delegates. Sanders continued to criticize Clinton for accepting large speaking fees from Wall Street firms, questioning her ethics and character, and placing the issue on the campaign stage with President Trump. .

Haley is reminding voters of what they don’t like about President Trump, and Haley is baiting her by calling her “birdbrain.” She criticizes him in a way that hurts the voters he needs to win in the general election, especially suburban women, college-educated Republicans, and independents. “All she needs to do for Biden to win is win about 11 percent of the Republican vote and convince them to stay home or vote for a third party.” Mr. Kamarck says that it could have a big impact on the election. That’s because it was former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s highest polling level before he withdrew from the race.

The best-laid plans rarely go as expected, and Haley’s late surge in Iowa and New Hampshire will likely leave other candidates packed. But Haley’s message is that these two senior citizens are not qualified to lead the country, and that generational change is the answer when the bigger issue is that Trump incited a violent attack on the country. That’s what I’m looking for.

If she wants to tell you an uncomfortable truth, she should tell you that too.