Nikki Haley is a bit kinder, gentler, and more empathetic than her major GOP competitors.
She is running a general election campaign.
She is positioning herself as an old style, pro-business Republican, and not totally about grievance and anger. It fits her condition; she cannot out-Trump Trump, although DeSantis and Ramaswamy are attempting it. She is the alternative. She calls this looking forward, not backward.
Nikki Haley is a foreign policy hawk on Israel, China, and Ukraine. Her Ukraine position sets her apart from Trump, DeSantis, and Ramaswamy. She is hard on foreign military and trade threats -- she calls them enemies, not competitors -- but she talks about compassion, cooperation, and getting to "yes" among fellow Americans. DeSantis talks of confronting Disney and bending them to his will. Haley talks about the tragic murders of Black Christians in the Charlestown church and her work to get consensus to remove the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse.
She led off in Exeter, as in every speech, by saying that out-of-control spending is due to Republicans as much or more than by Democrats. It sets the tone of Haley-as-truth-teller, willing to say the tough things, to be partisan, but not blindly so.
I have heard the same speech four times now. It is thoroughly practiced and fluent, and to my ear it sounds word for word, with the same inflections, same apparent offhand personal observations in each iteration. Nothing changes. Her newly married daughter still frets about being able to afford a house. Her son in college still has to write papers saying things he doesn't believe to get an "A." Maybe he should take other classes from another professor.
Her three minute talk on abortion is an example of this conservative-but-empathetic Nikki Haley. Watch.
Her Town Hall in Exeter lasted exactly one hour. She put intended applause lines into her talk. Here are the ones that in fact drew applause.
Term limits for Congress. (Applause.)
If Congress doesn't pass a budget, they don't get paid. "No budget, no pay." (Applause.)
Parents should know what kids are being taught. (Applause.)
Defund sanctuary cities once and for all. (Applause.)
"No catch and release for illegals. Catch and deport." (Applause.)
It's right for America to have Israel's back. (Applause.)
Israel has shown restraint. They have the right to fight back. (Applause.)
Iran is behind all the trouble in the Middle East. (Applause.)
Our biggest threat is China. They buy our farm land. They are stealing ideas in our universities. They make most of our military drones.The build more ships than we do. China is developing technologies to change our brain waves. (Applause.)
No more letting China buy farm land in America. (Applause.)
To be strong we need energy independence and strengthen our military. (Applause.)
We don't need a department of defense. We need a department of offense. (Applause.)
Kids need to say the pledge of allegiance every day. (Applause.)
In South Carolina we have welfare to work. (Applause.)
South Carolina has the lowest recidivism rate in the U.S. (Applause.)
After her three-minute abortion answer. (Applause.)
Let veterans go to the doctor of their choice. (Applause.)
Members of congress should have to get their health care from the VA. It will become the best health care in the world. (Applause.)
Told long story about taking down the confederate flag. Don't be hating on each other. (Applause.)
I want foreigners to respect America. (Applause.)
Long answer to question from 18 year old. We will make the world world better for you young folks. (Applause.)
"I have done over fifty town halls in New Hampshire." (Applause.)
I think Trump was the right president at the right time. But now we need a new generation. (Applause.)
We can't afford a president Kamala Harris. (Applause.)
We need to cut the federal budget back to pre-Covid levels. (Applause.)
Should there be new leadership in the GOP? I think there should be new leadership everywhere. (Applause.)
When I was growing up, we learned that the flag was to be respected. There were rules regarding how the flag was displayed, and displaying it on clothing was not included.
Nikki will never get near the WH. She is not the leader this country needs, she is no alternative, in fact she is worse & more of the same with the decrepit GOP, just another supporter of Trump who cannot speak against the monstrosity that he is.
My opinion.