Nikki Haley’s next act will include a new policy group and a new book.
The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations announced Monday the formation of her “Stand for America” advocacy group to promote public policies “that strengthen America’s economy, culture, and national security.”
The group endorses “taking a more aggressive approach to China’s unfair trade practices” and holding “China’s feet to the fire to help get rid of North Korea’s nuclear weapons,” according to its website.
The policy group also says the United States must expand its cyber-warfare efforts to counter Russian aggression.
“As U.S. ambassador to the U.N., I was able to see firsthand the challenges we face around the globe,” Haley said in a statement. “Iranian-backed radical Islamic terrorism threatens the lives of innocent Americans. Communist China is spreading its influence throughout the world. … Russia meddles in our elections and invades its neighbors with no regard for their sovereignty. In our own backyard, socialist dictators in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua oppress their own people and support narco-trafficking that invades America.”
Also, on Monday, Haley issued an op-ed article advocating an end to foreign aid to countries that vote against the United States at the United Nations.
Haley noted as ambassador she warned U.N. members that she was “taking names” of countries that voted to reject President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
“I did more than take names,” Haley wrote, stating her team compiled an “exhaustive research book” of how much foreign aid the United States provides each country, and how often each country votes against the United States at the U.N.
Haley presented the findings to Trump. In his State of Union address last year, Trump called on Congress “to pass legislation to help ensure American foreign assistance dollars always serve American interests, and only go to America’s friends.”
On the domestic front, Haley said in her statement that U.S. “prosperity is challenged by socialist schemes of higher taxes, job-destroying regulations, government-run health care and unsecure borders.”
Haley resigned as U.N. ambassador at the end of 2018, citing a need for time off after nearly 14 years in political office, including as S.C. governor.
Considered a likely GOP presidential candidate in 2024, Haley said in an interview with the Washington Post that she has not planned that far ahead and repeated she has no plans to run in 2020.
While her new 501c4 advocacy group cannot endorse candidates, Haley told The Post she plans to support candidates on her own, including playing “an as-yet undefined 2020 role in the reelection effort for Trump and Vice President Pence.”
Haley also told The Post she is working on a book to be published later this year, covering her last five years in public office, including her 2015 response to the racially motivated Emanuel AME Church massacre and her time as a prominent Trump adviser.
The Bamberg native said her family will remain in New York until her son, Nalin, finishes high school next year and, then, return to South Carolina. Earlier this month, Haley announced she is resuming her role as chairwoman of a separate nonprofit, focused on assisting school children in rural South Carolina.
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© 2019 The State (Columbia, S.C.)
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