November 13
Nikki Haley won the mock Iowa caucus held by the Young Republicans. Haley won with 37.8%, Donald Trump was second with 23.3% and Ron DeSantis took bronze with 16.7%.
Her campaign announced that they would be spending $10M in advertising across Iowa and New Hampshire.
November 14
Haley caused a lot of controversy today after a morning appearance on Fox News. On the subject of anonymity online, Haley said:
“Every person on social media should be verified by their name. It’s a national security threat. When you do that, all of a sudden people have to stand by what they say and it gets rid of the Russian bots, the Iranian bots and the Chinese bots.”
This caused an immediate firestorm regarding government overreach and personal security. Criticism came from, among others, National Review, Christina Pushaw, Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy. When interviewed on the Ruthless podcast later that day, Haley said “they need to verify every person on their outlet, and I want it by name.”
The March for Israel happened in Washington D.C today. Haley has been a strong advocate for Zionism throughout her career and voiced her support for the march.
Haley was the subject of two pieces in Iowa newspapers. The first was an op-ed in The Gazette by Kelly Nieuwenhuis, endorsing Haley’s plans for Iowa farmers. The second was a piece in the Des Moines Register which discussed the endorsements that Haley was receiving after the third debate.
November 15
Haley walked back on her internet anonymity policy after the enormous backlash she received. On being asked about the issue, Haley said “I don’t mind anonymous American people having free speech; what I don’t like is anonymous Russians and Chinese and Iranians having free speech.”
Her team released polling that showed Haley having the edge over both Trump and President Biden in New Hampshire.
Haley criticised the Biden administration’s renewal of a waiver that would release $10bn in assets to Iran. The choice to do this has been questioned after accusations of Iranian involvement in the Hamas attacks on Israel.
Haley tweeted the following:
“The UN Security Council called for a “pause” in Gaza, & instead of vetoing this shameful resolution, the US abstained. Biden is doing to Israel what Obama did at the UN—it’s embarrassing. We must have Israel’s back when it’s hit AND when it hits back. No ceasefire. Finish Hamas.”
She appeared on Sean Hannity tonight, criticising Biden’s meeting with China’s Xi Jinping.
November 16
Haley’s team emphasised two new polls that showed a Haley lead in the general.
Haley was in Dubuque and Waverly, Iowa.
She called for a TikTok ban again.
November 17
Haley discussed veteran suicides and sanctuary cities.
She was in Newton, Iowa. At that event, she said the following about the Osama Bin Laden letter going around online: “That’s disgusting. That’s not America doing that. That’s China doing that. That’s why you have to ban TikTok.”
Haley received an endorsement from Marlys Popma, an important member of the Iowa pro-life community.
November 18
A quiet day for Haley.
November 19
Polling has Haley at 9.5%.
Nikki Haley’s comments on internet anonymity were the biggest things to come out of the week. Her confidence in those comments seemed absolute, but she had to walk back on them pretty quickly after the backlash. Other than this, Haley was focusing mainly on Iowa, Israel and polling. She seems to be doing better in the polling, but is it enough to move her up the chain?