Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, didn’t make it all the way to Eden Prairie on Monday. But she did speak in our backyard.
Haley rallied over 800 supporters in a ballroom at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Bloomington, marking her first stop on a weeklong barnstorming of Super Tuesday states.
Minnesota’s presidential primary is next Tuesday, March 5, and Haley faces long odds in her challenge to Donald Trump for the Republican nomination. The former president has won all the early contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. In South Carolina, Haley’s home state, Trump won on Saturday with 60% of the vote to her 40%.
Minnesota Republicans who gathered to hear Haley speak for just under an hour heard Haley make her case for why she’s still in the race.
Speaking without notes or a teleprompter, Haley patiently explained why she was the right choice on both policy and politics. She delivered a detailed critique of federal fiscal and border policies that reflected traditional conservative positions.
“Republicans used to believe in small government, being fiscally responsible,” she said. “Trump created $8 trillion of our $34 trillion national debt in his four years, more than any other president. We now pay more in interest on that debt than on our national defense.”
Haley threw out some red meat, casting herself against the elites, Trump, President Biden, and the current Congress, and the boisterous crowd ate it up. Haley was interrupted several times early in her speech by protesters who appeared to be angered by what one shouter described as Haley’s “racist immigration policy.”
Later, the room grew attentively quiet as Haley discussed why Trump represented a danger to our national security.
“I’ll point to something Donald Trump said over a week ago in South Carolina,” she said. “Trump said he would encourage people to invade our allies. Think about that for a second. Donald Trump’s going to side with a thug, where half a million people have been wounded or killed because Putin invaded Ukraine.”
Her detailed explanations of foreign crises showcased her experience as the U.N. ambassador during Trump’s administration.
“It’s not normal for Donald Trump to be siding with a dictator (Putin) over our allies,” she concluded.
Haley’s message strikes a chord with supporters
Attendees highlighted Haley’s leadership and policies as reasons for their support.
John Colby of Edina expressed his support.
“I think it’s time for a female president,” Colby said. “She’s much more attuned to the heart of Americans. I think we’re missing that in our current leadership. I don’t think Trump is representative of the best interests of our country. I didn’t vote for him in 2020, and I wouldn’t vote for him if he was the nominee. But I wouldn’t vote for Biden, either.”
“I felt like she was talking common sense,” said Roy Terwilliger, a retired Republican legislative leader (and a former board director of Eden Prairie Local News.) “Getting the country straightened out with some form of fiscal responsibility and care and looking after other people. I don’t think we can walk away from our alliances, but I think you do have to put a lot of emphasis on where we’re at with our own people.”
“I think she’s the one who can win the White House, and I’m all about Republicans winning,” said Republican state Rep. Kristin Robbins, whose House District 37A includes Maple Grove and western exurbs.
Robbins, first elected to the Minnesota House in 2018, is the volunteer chair of the Haley campaign in Minnesota.
“She’s our best horse in this race, and we need to get her over the top,” Robbins said.
Will Haley’s call to action work?
“I’m running for my kids, your kids, and your grandkids,” Haley concluded. “Our kids deserve to know what normal feels like.”
She finished with a call to action for the crowd to contact her campaign to find out more about how to vote in the March 5 primary and how to support her.
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