Nikki Haley is an “outlier” among the candidates vying to take on President Biden in the 2024 general election, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told The Post on Friday, after launching his “Never Nikki” initiative. ”.
The anti-endorsement aims to define the former South Carolina governor as a “Big Government” Republican with little concern for fiscal responsibility or civil liberties – issues central to the libertarian senator – ahead of the Iowa and Iowa caucuses. the New Hampshire primary.
“I wanted to make it very, very clear that no libertarian or conservative thinks she is one of us,” Paul told The Post, arguing that there is a “clear distinction” between Haley, 51, and the rest of the primary field. “Republicans.” in the sense that she has been enthusiastic about foreign aid and very enthusiastic about sending more money to Ukraine.
Paul, who previously endorsed former President Donald Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns, was not yet ready Friday to make a final pronouncement on who he will support in 2024, but he is certain it won’t be Haley.
He said his “Never Nikki” campaign, which includes launching a website attacking several of his political positions, is “kind of the beginning of the process of getting involved” in the 2024 race.
Paul’s “Never Nikki” website harshly criticizes the former South Carolina governor. Rand Paul, /X
“The only thing I am absolutely sure of is that Nikki Haley does not represent the libertarian wing or the fiscally conservative wing of the Republican Party,” Paul said.
“I think she represents ‘Big Government,’ a kind of wing of the Republican Party of Mitch McConnell, Dick Cheney and John McCain,” he argued.
Paul specifically cited Haley’s proposal in November to force social media users to verify their identities before posting and her comment in the October debate about her desire for a “Department of Offense” instead of a Department of Defense as rhetoric that “alarms people like me.”
“No libertarian I’ve ever met has come to me and told me they like Nikki Haley,” Paul said. “The idea that you would have to register your name with the government to participate [on social media] …that alone would make libertarians leave the room.”
He added that Haley’s proposed social media reforms “disqualified her from libertarian-leaning Republicans” and criticized the candidate’s apparent lack of “historical knowledge” to know that almost all of our founders wrote anonymously and under pseudonyms for fear of government.
Paul joked that depending on the results of the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses, he might have “more to say next week” about which candidate he will back in 2024.
“There is a distinct possibility that he will make an endorsement before New Hampshire,” he said.
“I think she represents ‘Big Government,’ sort of the Mitch McConnell, Dick Cheney and John McCain wing of the Republican Party,” Paul said of Haley. BACKGROUND
“While I don’t fool myself into thinking my endorsement suddenly changes the race, I think I can have some effect in New Hampshire,” Paul said.
Haley’s polls in both Iowa and New Hampshire have increased in recent months, and a RealClearPolitics average of polls shows the former U.N. ambassador coming in second in the first two states they nominated.
With 17.8% support, Haley is ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, 45, in the Hawkeye State by 2 points, but trails Trump by 35 points.
In the Granite State, where voters go to the polls on Jan. 23, Haley is closest to the 77-year-old former president, about 14 points behind him, and ahead of DeSantis by 18 points.
Paul said he would have to “reevaluate” whether he would support Haley over Biden and third-party candidates if she won the Republican nomination, but added: “I hope my influence doesn’t lead to her being the nominee.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn