Whilst this diary was on a break for Christmas, the Nikki Haley campaign saw possibly its biggest moment so far. At an event in New Hampshire on the 28th December, Haley was asked what the cause of the American Civil War was by a voter. Haley responded with:
“Well, don’t come with an easy question. I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run — the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do. I will always stand by the fact that I think government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people. It was never meant to be all things to all people.”
The voter replied, “In the year 2023, it’s astonishing to me that you answer that question without mentioning the word ‘slavery’.”
Haley then replied with “What do you want me to say about slavery?”
By not mentioning slavery, Haley received a storm of criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike. Rival candidates Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy voiced concerns. DeSantis called it an “incomprehensible word salad,” whilst Ramswamy added “I think she mistook him for a SuperPAC donor.” President Biden also tweeted about it. Many others joined them in condemning Haley.
In response, Haley came out on the defensive. Her campaign came out with the following:
“Yesterday I was asked, last night I was asked about the Civil War. And what I think of the Civil War, what was the cause of the Civil War. Of course the Civil War was about slavery. We know that. That’s unquestioned, always the case. We know the Civil War was about slavery. But it was also more than that. It was about the freedoms of every individual. It was about the role of government. For 80 years, America had the decision and the moral question of whether slavery was a good thing and whether government, economically, culturally, any other reasons, had a role to play in that. By the grace of God, we did the right thing and slavery is no more. But the lessons of what that bigger issue with the Civil War are is that let’s not forget what came out of that, which is government’s role, individual liberties, freedom for every single person, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to do and be anything you want to be without anyone or government getting in your way—that should be the goal of what we always try and take away from that, right? Because we never want to return back to that place. But we always want to remember the lesson of what it means to be a free individual and that everyone deserves to be a free individual. So we stand by that. I say that as a southerner. I say that as a southern governor who removed the Confederate flag off the statehouse grounds. And I say that as a proud American of how far we have come.”
Apart from this, Haley has once again been traveling around the country and appearing in the media.
January 1
Happy New Year everybody! It’s officially election year and it’s about two weeks before the Iowa caucus. Haley presumably spent the day celebrating.
January 2
Haley attended a town hall in Rye, New Hampshire with Governor Chris Sununu, a key supporter. She also showed off a new roster of endorsements in Iowa, including Council Bluffs Mayor Matt Walsh.
January 3
Haley announced that her campaign had raised $25M in Q4. Her campaign said this:
“Since Haley announced her candidacy, she has raised $50 million from 180,000 donors across her three campaign committees. Haley has $14.5 million cash on hand going into 2024. Haley’s fourth quarter numbers underscore her ability to continuously bring in new people, with 83,900 new donors in the final quarter alone—nearly the same number of unique donors in all the previous quarters combined. Haley also has a particularly strong grassroots fundraising operation with $16.25 million raised from digital and mail grassroots efforts.”
Haley released an op-ed in the Des Moines Register. You can read it here. She also appeared on Newsmax.
She stopped off at three campaign stops in New Hampshire- Kingston, Londonderry and Milford.
January 4
Haley accused the Trump campaign of being “scared of her.” She also announced some more endorsements from Iowa.
January 5
Haley attacked Ron DeSantis, her nearest rival for second. She also attacked her other rivals.
She released a new ad which included General Don Buldoc, a former candidate for the Senate.
Haley was once again in Des Moines, Iowa.
January 6
Haley released a new ad in Iowa, mainly talking about her pro-life position.
She spent time in Iowa at three locations- Indianola, North Liberty and Bettendorf.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has taken up Donald Trump’s case regarding his name being on the ballot. After Colorado stated that it would not be allowing his name on the ballot due to charges stemming from the January 6th incident, Trump has decided to fight back. Maine already announced a similar measure, and other states have discussed it. Oral arguments will take place in the Supreme Court on the 8th February.
January 7
Polling shows Haley slowly gaining ground on second placed challenger Ron DeSantis- 11.2% against 12.1%.
It was all about Iowa and New Hampshire for Haley this week, as the caucuses and primaries get ever closer. Can Haley prove she’s the woman for the job?