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Nikki Haley

About Nikki Haley

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Who is Nikki Haley?

Nikki Haley is an Indian-American politician who recently announced her candidacy for 2024 presidential polls of the United States, challenging former President Donald Trump. She is the first female governor of South Carolina, the youngest governor in the US, and the second governor of Indian descent after Bobby Jindal.  

Early Life
Born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa in South Carolina's Bamberg on January 20, 1972 to her Sikh parents Ajit Singh Randhawa and Raj Kaur Randhawa, Nikki Haley converted to Christianity after her marriage to Michael Haley in 1996.
 
Her parents moved to Canada after her father, formerly a professor at Punjab Agricultural University, received a scholarship offer from the University of British Columbia. After her father received his PhD in 1969, he moved his family to South Carolina to be a professor at Voorhees College, a historically black institution.
 
Education
Nikki Haley earned an accounting degree from Clemson University in 1994, after which she joined her family's clothing business. She then served as a treasurer and then president of the National Association of Women Business Owners.
 
Political Career
Her political career began in 2004, when she was first elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives wherein she served three terms. During the end of her third term in 2010, Haley was elected governor of South Carolina; making her the youngest governor in the US at 39 years of age.
 
Among the many firsts, Haley also is the first Indian American member of a presidential cabinet in 2017. She served as the United States ambassador to the United Nations from 2017 to 2018.
 
During her term as the US Ambassador, she defended the country's interests, particularly its support of Israel, at the Security Council. She also affirmed the US's willingness to use military force in response to further North Korean missile tests in the wake of the 2017–2018 North Korea crisis.
 
On December 31, 2018, she voluntarily stepped down as the Ambassador.
 
Criticism
Following her announcement to run as for 2024 US Presidential polls, Nikki Haley has received racially charged comments by conservative pundit and author Ann Coulter, who called her a 'bimbo' and 'preposterous creature'. Coulter also asked Haley to "go back to her own country".
 
Apart from the racial comment, Haley has also been slammed for claiming that she was a part of the "new generation" at age 51.
 
Even before she entered the race, former President Trump dismissed her as "overly ambitious". Soon after her official announcement, as per the New York Times, Trump suggested that Haley's appointment as the UN ambassador during his tenure was less a reflection of her credentials than of his desire to see her male lieutenant governor take over as governor.  
 

Latest Updates on Nikki Haley

The debate around the H1B visa controversy was sparked by Trump on Sunday when he announced he was appointing Sriram Krishnan to be a White House policy adviser on artificial intelligence

Updated On: 28 Dec 2024 | 11:03 AM IST

While Pompeo dropped from the race early, Haley was the last challenger against Trump till February this year, later on, the two endorsed his campaign

Updated On: 10 Nov 2024 | 7:41 AM IST

"Our southern border is our most pressing security threat; Biden and Harris have made it dramatically worse. Their debacle in Afghanistan not only created a new terrorist state; it also signaled weak

Updated On: 04 Nov 2024 | 10:02 AM IST

While the US doesn't formally recognise Taiwan, it is the island's strongest backer and main arms provider

Updated On: 24 Aug 2024 | 1:27 PM IST

He said that he ran against Haley in his own ways and won in South Carolina by numbers that nobody's ever seen before

Updated On: 16 Aug 2024 | 7:47 AM IST

The former Republican presidential candidate, who lost to Donald Trump in the primary race, said she was not surprised when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race

Updated On: 26 Jul 2024 | 9:21 AM IST

Haley, who had described Trump as unelectable and unfit for office during her campaign, nevertheless urged her supporters to vote for him over Democratic President Joe Biden

Updated On: 17 Jul 2024 | 9:35 AM IST

Haley on Tuesday opted to release her 97 delegates won across a dozen primaries and caucuses earlier this year

Updated On: 10 Jul 2024 | 7:01 AM IST

Indian American politician Nikki Haley on Wednesday took a jibe at top American journalist George Stephanopoulos who had questioned her claim that President Joe Biden would not complete his first term

Updated On: 04 Jul 2024 | 9:12 AM IST

Former Republican presidential candidate and US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley advocates unwavering US support for Israel amid Gaza conflict

Updated On: 29 May 2024 | 3:52 PM IST

Haley shuttered her own bid for the GOP nomination two months ago but did not immediately endorse Trump, having accused him of causing chaos and disregarding the importance of US alliances

Updated On: 23 May 2024 | 7:18 AM IST

Trump is in no hurry to pick a running mate, according to advisers. He will not be formally nominated until the Republican convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July

Updated On: 11 May 2024 | 11:09 PM IST

Earlier, Trump finished Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses with a 30-percentage point victory that set a Republican record for the state without an incumbent in the race

Updated On: 07 Mar 2024 | 7:01 AM IST

Haley's decision to suspend her campaign comes a day after Super Tuesday, when Trump beat her soundly in 14 of the 15 Republican nominating contests

Updated On: 06 Mar 2024 | 10:53 PM IST

That victory will do little to dent Trump's primary dominance, however. The former president won 11 other states on Super Tuesday

Updated On: 06 Mar 2024 | 10:00 AM IST

"We're trying to make sure that we touch every hand that we can and speak to every person," Haley said.

Updated On: 04 Mar 2024 | 10:31 PM IST

Trump earned every delegate at stake on Saturday, bringing his count to 244 compared to 24 for former U N Ambassador Nikki Haley

Updated On: 03 Mar 2024 | 7:27 AM IST

Defying calls from South Carolina Republicans to exit the race, Haley travelled Sunday to Michigan, which holds its primary on Tuesday, speaking to a hotel ballroom packed with hundreds of supporters

Updated On: 26 Feb 2024 | 8:12 AM IST

Saturday's win in South Carolina makes Trump's march towards the Republican presidential nomination appear inevitable, and leaves Haley, despite her vow to battle on, no clear path to beating him

Updated On: 25 Feb 2024 | 11:29 PM IST

Trump, 77, did not name another Indian-American politician, Nikky Haley, who is still in the race

Updated On: 21 Feb 2024 | 1:57 PM IST