Haley says she’ll take time next month to consider 2024 White House bid

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Tuesday that she will consider whether to launch a 2024 bid for the presidency over the winter holidays next month.

“We are taking the holidays to kind of look at what the situation is,” the former South Carolina governor said at an event at Clemson University. “If we decide to get into it, we’ll put 1,000 percent in, and we’ll finish it.”

Haley, who served as U.N. ambassador under former President Trump, had previously said that she would not seek the Republican Party’s nomination if Trump were to run in 2024.

“I would not run if President Trump ran, and I would talk to him about it,” Haley told The Associated Press in April 2021.

Trump announced his latest bid for the presidency earlier this month, just one week after the GOP’s disappointing performance in the midterm elections. However, Haley has recently hinted at her own interest in running.

“A lot of people have asked if I’m going to run for president. Now that the midterms are over, I’ll look at it in a serious way, and I’ll have more to say soon,” Hayley said at a Las Vegas meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition earlier this month.

“For now, I’ll say this. I’ve won tough primaries and tough general elections. I’ve been the underdog every single time. When people underestimate me, it’s always fun,” she added. “But I’ve never lost an election. And I’m not going to start now.”

While no other Republican candidate has announced a bid yet, several major GOP figures have said they are considering a run or appear to be positioning themselves to launch a campaign. 

Former Vice President Mike Pence has said he and his family were giving “prayerful consideration” on whether to contest Trump for the Republican nomination, while former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has paid visits to the early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also appear to be leaving the door open for 2024.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is widely viewed as Trump’s biggest potential competition for the Republican nomination, has remained tight-lipped about whether he will run against the former president.