Nikki Haley needs to pick a lane to sell herself as GOP’s next generation, slams Trump’s ex-press secretary Sean Spicer
NIKKI Haley cannot just run as the non-Trump candidate if she has any hope of winning the GOP nomination for president, ex-White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has warned.
The former South Carolina Governor officially launched her campaign on February 15 - months after Donald Trump announced his bid for the White House.
Haley has dubbed herself the “next generation” candidate as she tries to offer GOP voters an alternative vision to the brash tycoon.
Trump, Haley, and the multimillionaire entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are the only Republicans who have formally declared their candidacy.
But, the field is likely to grow as Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo, and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott may also launch a bid for the coveted Oval Office.
Spicer, who served in the Trump Administration in 2017, told The U.S. Sun that Haley must pick a “lane” if she has any chance of winning the nomination.
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He said: “She’s running as the non-Trump candidate. OK, that’s fine, but you have to have a constituency.”
Spicer said Pence, for example, would likely target evangelical Republicans if he decided to run for the nomination.
He warned that Haley faces a “challenge” as she tries to convey to voters that she is the next-generation candidate.
Spicer said: “It’s all about perception and what people believe [as to whether they think she’s the next generation].”
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He is skeptical that Haley will be the party’s nominee as he believes Trump and DeSantis are only the “viable” candidates.
Spicer warned that Haley has to sell the idea to voters that she is the future of the GOP.
In her campaign video, she called for “generational change” in the party.
And she has repeatedly cited that the GOP has lost seven of the last eight popular votes in a presidential election.
In a rallying cry, Haley said: “Some people look at America and see vulnerability.
"The socialist left sees an opportunity to rewrite history. China and Russia are on the march. They all think we can be bullied, [and] kicked around.
“You should know this about me: I don’t put up with bullies.
"And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels.”
She also appeared to call for unity among Americans following years of bitter division.
I don’t kick sideways. I’m kicking for Joe Biden as the president.
Nikki Haley
Haley said: “My mom would always say your job is not to focus on the differences but the similarities.
“My parents reminded me and my siblings every day how blessed we were to live in America.”
Haley told Fox’s Sean Hannity that America must “leave the chaos behind.”
She said: “We have to leave the status quo. And we’ve got to start talking about the future.”
So far, Haley has avoided picking a potential fight with the former president.
Haley served as the United States Ambassador to the UN under Trump between 2017 and 2018.
In 2021, she said that she wouldn't contest the 2024 GOP nomination if Trump decided to run.
Haley told Fox: “I don’t kick sideways. I’m kicking for Joe Biden as the president.
“He’s the one I’m running against. And what I’m saying is that you don’t have to be 80 years old to be president.
“We need something new. We need a new generation of fighters.”
Haley's declaration came after Trump launched his White House charge in November last year.
He had teased a 2024 election bid for months before finally declaring his candidacy just days after a lackluster GOP showing in the midterm elections.
He told loyal supporters: “America’s comeback starts right now."
Trump vowed that America would once again be a great nation.
“This will not be my campaign, this will be our campaign all together. I will fight like no one has ever fought before."
And it doesn’t seem that all Republicans are overly enthused at the prospect of Trump being the candidate in 2024.
Politicians other than Trump have been branded the future of the GOP by experts.
Christopher Nicholas, a veteran Republican political consultant, told The U.S. Sun that time is not on the former president’s side.
He said: “Trump has had his time, and it’s time to find someone new, younger, and who can appeal to the broader section of the electorate.
“As long as it’s not Donald Trump, the Republican Party has a much better shot at beating Joe Biden.”
Polling conducted by PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist has revealed that 42 percent of Republican and independent voters who tend to vote for the GOP believe the party should nominate Trump ahead of the 2024 ballot.
While 54 percent think an alternative candidate would be a better option.
But despite the current polls, Spicer believes that Trump is the favorite for the GOP nomination.
He said: “He is the favorite. I don't think there is anybody who doesn't view him as the favorite.
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“People may think that they’re going to beat him.
"But I think the people who are already in the race, or will enter the race, believe he is the favorite.”
