Nikki Haley Announces for GOP Nomination
The following is part of The Moscow Primary, and irregular series on yours truly’s speculations regarding the views of the 2024 Republican nomination contest from the most important player: the Kremlin.
Last week, the folks at Politico discovered what I mentioned when February began – Trump would take the pro-Russia vote in the GOP all for himself, if he can.
Donald Trump is settling on a simple foreign policy pitch in his second bid for the White House: Want World War 3? Vote for the other guy.
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Those close to Trump’s campaign operation say he plans to try and paint himself as an anti-war dove amongst the hawks. They believe doing so will resonate with GOP voters who are divided on, but growing wary of, continued support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
“Trump is the peace president and he’s the first president in two generations to not start a war, whereas if you look at DeSantis’ congressional record, he’s voted for more engagement and more military engagement overseas,” said a person close to the Trump campaign, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.
Truth be told, I don’t quite share the Trump campaign’s confidence on DeSantis. The Florida Governor has been decidedly vague and relatively quiet regarding Ukraine. There is a good chance he could still battle Trump for the hearts of the Kremlin.
Nikki Haley is in no such position, as she made clear in her announcement (CNN).
“Some people look at America and see vulnerability,” Haley said. “The socialist left sees an opportunity to rewrite history. China and Russia are on the march. They all think we can be bullied, kicked around. You should know this about me: I don’t put up with bullies and when you kick back it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels.”
So Haley will clearly look to the pro-Ukraine minority in the GOP for votes – as likely will Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo, should they run. If DeSantis decides to join them, Trump’s divide-and -conquer strategy will fall right into place. No wonder he responded to Haley’s entrance by saying, “I told her she should follow her heart and do what she wants to do. I wish her luck!”
Conventional wisdom already holds that Haley will take votes from DeSantis rather than Trump. That will certainly be true if DeSantis ignores the pro-Russia Republican vote. So either Trump rides the Kremlin fellow travelers to victory or DeSantis departs from the rest of the field and makes a serious effort for victory in the Moscow Primary.
Either way, Putin wins.
