New York: Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor who also served in the Trump administration, is preparing to run for presidency in 2024, a source familiar with her planning said.
The Republican is set to be the first to challenge former President Donald Trump in a GOP primary election. Trump last year announced another bid for the White House. Nikki served as Trump's US ambassador to the United Nations for nearly two years, from 2017 to 2018, when she resigned.
Prior to her tenure in the Trump administration, Nikki led the state of South Carolina as governor from 2011 until 2017, when she left to take the job at the UN. Nikki was the first woman to serve as governor of South Carolina.
In her memoir, Nikki hammers White House team but pledges allegiance to Trump. Since Nikki left the Trump White House, she travelled the country with a particular focus on visiting early voting states. She also released a memoir about her time working with the former president.
In 2021, Nikki had said she wouldn't run for president if Trump ran again, but recently deviated from her typical line, calling for a new generation of leadership in the Republican Party in an appearance on Fox News that she later posted on Twitter.
While appearing for the Fox news programme on January 20, Nikki demurred from confirming a presidential campaign but highlighted one of the challenges any Republican candidate faces in a general election: the popular vote. "We have lost the last seven out of eight popular votes for president," Nikki said. "It is time we get a Republican in there that can lead and that can win a general election."
The formal announcement is expected on Feb 15.