Nikki Haley recounted her presidential campaign experiences and urged politicians to actively listen to voters and work to gain their trust during an Oct. 3 event at Georgetown University.
Haley, who served as governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and United States ambassador to the United Nations from 2017 to 2018, ran for president in the 2024 Republican primaries arguing that she would appeal to moderates better than former President Donald Trump. During the event, hosted by the Georgetown Institute for Politics and Public Service (GU Politics) and titled “Reflections on Running,” Haley discussed the election and partisan polarization with Mo Elleithee (SFS ’94), executive director of GU Politics, and Rick Wiley, a former advisor to her campaign, moderating the discussion.
Haley discussed what it was like to campaign, saying candidates are always depending on support from the people.
“If you ever run for office, it’s just begging,” Haley said at the event. “You’re begging all the time. You’re begging for money, you’re begging for them to put yard signs up. You’re begging for votes. You’re just begging.”
“But it is the most humbling thing you can ever do, because if you really want to serve, shouldn’t you have to really put yourself out there and ask for everything and tell everything?” Haley added.
When considering whether to enter the race, given that Trump had chosen to run again, Haley said she focused on her own preparedness and belief in herself.
“It didn’t matter if he was going to run,” Haley said. “I knew that I was the right person at that time to go forward. And the lesson I will tell you is tune out that noise.”
“Make a smart decision, make sure you’re ready, make sure you know what you’re in for, make sure you have family support, you can’t do it without family support, but don’t let the naysayers tell you why you shouldn’t,” Haley added.
Haley said she decided to enter the race after considering her family, including her husband, South Carolina National Guard Maj. Michael Haley, who was deployed at the time.
Haley said she knew she was ready to fight for the presidency before entering the race.
“I always knew if I was a good mom and a good wife, I’d be good at what I did,” Haley said. “If one of those was off, I was off. And so making sure that I was ready, I knew that I knew my stuff, I knew that I had the strength to do it, I knew that I was passionate about it and I knew that I was committed to do whatever it took to get my voice out to as many people as possible.”
Haley suspended her campaign in March before endorsing Trump in July and said she gave the campaign her best effort.
“I am very proud of the fact we had 14 candidates, we defeated 13 of them,” Haley said. “I had one more I wanted to get, and I couldn’t get there. But it wasn’t because I didn’t try. When we suspended, I had complete and total gratitude.”
Haley said voters want younger candidates than 78-year-old Trump or 81-year-old President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the presidential race after Haley ended her campaign.
“At the end of the day, the people decide,” Haley said. “I knew just from town halls alone and everything, everybody wanted something newer, fresher, younger, energetic. They were worried, they wanted a worker.”
Haley also said Trump and Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris will need to appeal to the trust of undecided voters.
“Both candidates have to pay attention to that 10% that is going to decide this election, which is suburban women, independents, college-educated,” Haley said. “You can talk about the issues at the end of the day, but again when I say this goes back to trust, they want to know that you asked for their vote and they want to know that they can trust you to give you the vote.”
Haley said that though political tension and violence has been rife this year, she has hope that U.S. politics will get better.
“I have faith,” Haley said. “I think we’re going to be okay. You’ve heard me say this before: America has an amazing ability to self-correct. Sometimes we have to hit rock bottom to know where up is, we’re almost there. But we will get there, and I know that we are going to be okay.”
“It’s just messy right now, but I don’t think it’s going to last,” Haley added.
