Nikki Haley crashes and burns
You might have heard of Nikki Haley, who used to be portrayed as a moderate and capable Republican largely because as governor she took down a Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse 150 years after it should have been – in the wake of a white supremacist shooting up a Black church.
Haley was a NeverTrumper until she was asked to be a member of the former guy’s cabinet, and now on the campaign trail she’s trying to walk the line between trying to win over his most loyal voters and trying to appeal to the moderate voters who aren’t big on authoritarianism or reckless cowboy diplomacy, so in a desperate flail, she decided to go after POTUS and Veep in one fell swoop – deciding to shout that President Biden might not survive his first term and a vote for him would inevitably be a vote for Kamala Harris – hoping some people would be scared off at the idea that Harris would take over and govern to the left of Biden.
If you haven’t heard of Haley, or didn’t remember she was running for president – don’t feel too bad. The White House Deputy Press Secretary didn’t remember either – and said so in a statement, rather than bother to address any of her tasteless nonsense.
Haley didn’t really have any traction to start with, and now it’s almost certain her campaign won’t live beyond 2023. She can feel free to go after the White House further, but it’ll only serve to make her more foolish than she already looks now – even being the running mate on a 2024 ticket is probably a stretch.
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making