Nikki Haley says vote for her over Trump because ‘you don’t have to be 80 in DC’

Presidential hopeful Nikki Haley held the first of two town halls in Iowa this week Monday night, where she said Hawkeye State residents should vote for her over Trump because she doesn’t believe “you have to be 80 to be in DC”.

Since throwing her name out in the 2024 Republican primary last week, Haley has been asked during cable news appearances, and now at a town hall, to differentiate herself from the only other candidate in the race so far: former President Trump. .

On each occasion, the response from the former ambassador and governor of South Carolina has been clear on the political differences and focused on the fact that she is a younger, fresher face who can help move the party forward.

“Because I don’t think you have to be 80 to be in DC,” Haley, a 51-year-old mother of two, responded Monday night to a question from the crowd outside Des Moines, Iowa.

And again on Monday, Trump’s United Nations ambassador didn’t show the light of day between her and her former boss from a political perspective.

President Trump is my friend. I think he was the right president at the right time,’ he said. “He was proud to serve in his cabinet.”

‘All the media and everyone wants to talk about is the past. We need to leave the status quo behind and we have work to do.’

Haley insisted she was the right age for the presidency after CNN’s Don Lemon was suspended for suggesting she was “past her prime” as a woman and The View’s Whoopi Goldberg said she was “not a new generation.”

Haley made waves in her campaign announcement speech last week when she called for term limits and mental competency tests for lawmakers age 75 and older.

“That’s not disrespect, that’s transparency,” Haley said.

“Bernie Sanders lost his mind yesterday, for those on the defensive, you are exactly the reason we need you,” he continued. Sanders, 81, called the idea of ​​such tests “absurd.”

Iowa Republican Party representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who appeared at the event, told DailyMail.com that Haley’s call for competitive tests was a “source of marital discord”.

“I think term limits are imposed when people vote for people to remove them,” he said.

Miller-Meeks did not endorse Haley, but said she would offer her endorsement to a candidate after seeing the entire field shake up.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds introduced Haley, calling the South Carolina governor a “very good friend” and saying it would be a “big mistake” to underestimate her.

And in what could have been a veiled shot at another potential rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Haley repeatedly called Reynolds the “best governor in the country, hands down.”

Haley scoffed at outrage over DeSantis’ so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, which bans talking about sexual orientation before the fourth grade in Florida public schools.

Haley insisted she was the right age for the presidency after CNN’s Don Lemon was suspended for suggesting she was “past her prime” as a woman and The View’s Whoopi Goldberg said she was “not a new generation.”

Haley speaks to voters at a town hall event in Urbandale, Iowa

“I don’t even think it goes far enough,” Haley said of the bill.

She told a story about how her father didn’t sign her permission slip for sex ed in seventh grade. ‘I was the uncool guy in the next room.’

The former ambassador and governor took aim at both parties in Congress for bringing back appropriations, pet projects they can fund through appropriations bills.

“Appropriations are now the norm, both the Republicans and the Democrats did that.”

Haley denounced what he described as “national self-contempt” and called the Chinese spy balloon debacle an “embarrassment” dating back to the withdrawal from Afghanistan as it did the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“If we hadn’t had that debacle in Afghanistan, none of this would have happened,” Haley said. ‘The idea that we would leave Bagram Air Force Base in the middle of the night… think about what that said to our friends.’

Haley said she was “disappointed” that India, where her parents emigrated from, was not with the United States to support Ukraine. ‘The reason why India is not with us is that they don’t trust that we will win. They don’t trust us to have the courage to finish it.

“We have to get this over with,” he said of US support for Ukraine, while making it clear he did not support US troops on the ground or a “blank check.”

“I am never in favor of giving money, I am in favor of giving military equipment.”

And in comments dating back to the Trump era, he said: ‘We have to call all those other NATO countries and say what are they giving? What are you getting? Because this is not just us.

Haley recounted the time Trump called her and asked her to represent the US at the United Nations. “I said I don’t even know what the United Nations does, I just know that the whole world hates them.”

“You can’t buy a nation that says death to America, stop giving them money,” he said, boasting that he pressured Trump to cut aid to Pakistan.

Appearances in Iowa are key for presidential hopefuls due to the first state caucuses in the nation.

Haley’s only formal rival in the race so far, former President Trump, has not planned any Iowa appearances, though he announced on Monday the hiring of his key campaign staff in the Hawkeye state.

Instead, Trump is heading to East Palestine, Ohio, the site of a train derailment that led to the evacuation of the city, where he will pay a visit even before President Biden and the Secretary of Transportation. Pete Buttigieg.

The former president has hired state representative Bobby Kaufman and Eric Branstad, son of his former Chinese ambassador Terry Branstad, as senior advisers and Marshall Moreau as his state director.

It named Alex Latcham as its initial state director, running operations in the early-primary states: Iowa, South Carolina, New Hampshire and Nevada.

Branstad worked on Trump’s last two campaigns and was a senior adviser at the Commerce Department under Trump. Latcham worked for Trump as the White House’s deputy political director.

“As the Democrats destroy decades of tradition, we must always protect the nation’s first Iowa caucuses,” Trump said in a statement released through his campaign.

‘It’s me who did it this time and you will always be first with me. It was a great honor for me to get $28 billion for our farmers, as they have been taken advantage of by China for years. And don’t forget USMCA, the replacement for the horrible NAFTA. With this incredible team of trained professionals and their deep ties to Iowa, we will win a commanding victory in the caucuses next year.’

Trump, unlike his rival and other speculative rivals, in the three months since announcing his 2024 run for president has not set foot in Iowa, the site where his claim to Republican dominance will be put to the test for the first time next year. .

Last week, Mike Pence was in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to speak on parental rights in transgender politics and this week, Sen. Tim Scott, RS.C., will kick off his Faith in America listening tour in Des Moines. and will speak in Polk County. Republicans Lincoln Dinner.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, also considered a presidential candidate, visited Iowa in January and met with Republicans at the state legislature in Des Moines last week.

Meanwhile, instead of Iowa, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made appearances in New York City, Philadelphia and Chicago on Monday, where he accused the city’s liberal lawmakers of trying to “wake each other up” in part of what his team describes as a pro-police tour.

Haley officially launched her campaign last week where she lives in Charleston, South Carolina.

Haley did not mention former President Donald Trump, 76, by name as she called for term limits and “mandatory mental competency tests” for politicians 75 and older.

Haley had a “particular message” for her fellow Republicans.

“We have lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections,” he said. “Our cause is right, but we have failed to win the trust of the majority of Americans.”