Nikki Haley reportedly pitched herself to conservatives outside of Washington, D.C., on Friday, delivering an amplified version of her typical stump speech in which she urged Republicans to support a younger generation of party leaders and warned about the dangers of socialism and wokeness.
Haley ran off a number of talking points that have so far defined her budding presidential run to a half-full ballroom at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
She raged against out-of-control federal spending, accused the Biden administration of adopting a weak stance toward China, and reaffirmed her request for legislators over the age of 75 to be subjected to a mental fitness test.
Her words included an oblique shot at former President Donald Trump, her former boss and current GOP presidential candidate in 2024.
She pointed out that Republicans have lost practically every presidential election since 1992 in terms of popular vote. Trump was defeated in the popular vote in both 2016 and 2020.
Haley’s visit at CPAC was an attempt to reintroduce herself to an audience of conservative activists and members of the Republican grassroots who play an important role in the presidential nomination process.
While she has long been regarded as a rising star among Republicans, early polling shows her lagging Trump and another prospective opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
She also asserted that the United States is heading toward socialism under President Biden, and that wokeness is “a virus.”
“I have traveled the world and back and I have seen what’s out there. America isn’t perfect, but the principles at the heart of America are perfect,” Haley claimed.
“America is not a racist country. I will get the self-loathing out of our schools, I will get the self-destruction out of our culture and once we make America proud, we will make America strong.” she continued.
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