Why I Won’t Be Voting For Nikki Haley

Should you vote Nikki Haley for the GOP presidential primary in 2024? This author won’t be.

On today’s show, I thought it would be best to let the Candace Owens audience know why that is — and how some behind-the-scenes interactions with Haley and her team helped craft my decision. It is not my goal to convince you in any way, but rather to give you information that will help you make your decision.

The former United Nations Ambassador announced Tuesday her candidacy to the presidency. You can see her first campaign video here.

Get excited! It’s time for a new generation.

Let’s do this! 👊 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/BD5k4WY1CP

— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 14, 2023

Haley and ex-President Donald J. Trump have been the most conservative choices so far. Although he hasn’t officially announced, it is likely that Ron DeSantis, Florida Governor will be entering the race.

Haley won’t get my vote. It has nothing to do personal grievances, I want to be clear. I had a chance to meet her once and she was extremely kind to me. My job allows me to get a better view of politicians and campaign staff. To your benefit, I share these experiences whenever possible on my podcast.

Haley reportedly charged as high as $200,000 for a speaker’s fee after she left the Trump administration. Many who worked with her complained that she didn’t have the flexibility to spend that much money.

A few years back, I was invited for a dinner at which Nikki Haley was the main speaker. This was a large-scale donor event. You could ask Haley questions or pose for a picture with her, depending on how much you paid. The more private and intimate the experience was, the higher your payment.

What I saw during Haley’s speech was a polished professional speaker — who stuck to her script verbatim. It almost felt a bit too prepared, and not authentic. However, the donors who were there loved it.

Audience members were able to ask her specific questions. It was almost as if she had already written the answers. A gentleman at my table who was hosting the event confirmed my suspicions. Indeed, Haley’s staff required all questions be submitted far in advance. Donors were forbidden from going off-script.

Instantly, I could tell that something was wrong with the man next to me. He explained that it was expensive to bring Haley along to the event, and that her team had very strict requirements. These included dictating which questions could be asked.

It turns out the last question this gentleman asked — a question relevant to a story about Trump and NATO which broke that day — was not on Haley’s radar. Her team quickly swooped in after him and totally undressed. This was a man who had helped coordinate the event.

That confirmed my intuition — she was not being authentic with her donors. It was clear that she was preparing to run for the presidency. When she made her announcement, my predictions proved to be true. Her announcement.

A polished politician is not someone I want to support. I prefer unscripted politicians who can speak their mind and engage in honest conversations with journalists, colleagues and the public. That is actually what I loved about Trump.

I was never advised by his team what questions to ask. You can’t deny that he is authentically Trump, regardless of whether you love or hate him. It was refreshing because that’s a character trait so many politicians seem to lack.

It has made me a cynic about politics. A politician’s straight answer is not always the best.

These are just my gut feelings and my personal experiences with Haley. This column should not be used to decide whether or not you vote for Haley. You may disagree with me. You might disagree with my stance. My job is to give you as much information as possible about these candidates, so you can make informed decisions at the poll box.