>>> A major announcement today
from Nikki Haley.
The 2024 Republican presidential
field has its second candidate
and its first woman.
>> 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 when you're wearing
heels.
I'm Nikki Haley, and I'm running
for president.
>> Tomorrow, the former south
Carolina governor and ambassador
to the united nations holds a
kickoff rally in Charleston,
then two other key early voting
states, Iowa and New Hampshire,
later this week.
Joining now to share reporting
and incites, Dana bash, Jeremy
diamond, and tia Mitchell.
So Donald Trump has his first
declared opponent.
He was the only, until today,
the only declared candidate for
president.
The question is, we roll back
the tape pre-trump, you can make
the case for okay, here's Nikki
Haley.
She's interesting, a governor of
South Carolina.
In the post trump Republican
party, what's the lane?
>> I was actually in south
Carolina pre-trump when then
governor Nikki Haley endorsed
Marco Rubio and she stood on the
stage with Marco Rubio and Tim
Scott and said this is what the
new Republican party should look
like.
That was before she became
Donald Trump's U.N. Ambassador
and kind of went back and forth
many times when it comes to
supporting or not supporting
him.
That was one of the things that
was most fascinating about her
video.
By the way, we could spend an
hour talking about it,
dissecting it, because it was
very intentional.
A lot of points she wanted to
make.
When you talk to people who are
preparing to, thinking about
running against Donald Trump,
which is what it is right now,
there seems to be a dividing
line between those who are
willing to say, an aggressive
full throated way, we have to
move on beyond this man, Donald
Trump.
And those who are kind of
dancing around it.
I'm already hearing from some in
the first camp saying okay, she
talks about the heels, which is
a great memorable line.
She talks about bullies, which
is another memorable line.
But neglects to talk about her
former boss who could easily be
put in that category.
>> In fact, she kind of lumps
him in.
Not just Donald Trump, she says
other Republican presidential
candidates have failed a
critical test.
>> Republicans have lost the
popular vote in seven out of the
last eight presidential
elections.
That has to change.
It's time for a new generation
of leadership.
To rediscover fiscal
responsibility, secure our
border, and strengthen our
country, our pride, and our
purpose.
>> It seemed to me to be a, if
you're for trump or Desantis for
that matter, if you're for a
trumpy candidate, think again.
Is that the point she's making,
to shake the Republican primary
voter, think again.
>> I think she's saying that,
but what is she giving them as a
true kind of contrast to trump
or Desantis?
Because she's still talking
about wokism and the radical
left and criticizing the 1619
project.
These are all the same type of
talking points you'll hear from
a trump or a Desantis.
So you know, to Dana's point,
she's talking around the edges,
not really saying the thing, and
I don't know if that's going to
resonate if she truly wants to
present herself as an
alternative.
>> It's great question, does she
run as governor Nikki Haley or
ambassador Nikki Haley.
Just look at the bio card.
It's impressive.
She's 51 years old.
Joe Biden is 80 plus, Donald
Trump would be 80 or 79.
51 years old.
First generation American.
Was U.N. Ambassador.
First woman South Carolina
governor.
She led the removal of the
confederate flag from the south
Carolina state house, that after
a horrific shooting at a black
church.
Governor Nikki Haley would be an
interesting Republican.
Trump ambassador Nikki Haley,
where's the lane?
>> If you look at the video it's
clear she plans on running as
governor Nikki Haley, at least
primarily.
The entire video focuses on her
time as governor, what she was
able to do in the state from an
economic perspective, how she
handled the fallout of the
devastating Charleston shooting.
The only thing we see in the
video in terms of U.N.
Ambassador is maybe a picture or
video of her in that role at the
united nations.
But I think the bigger question
in terms of how she actually
approaches this is we have seen
too many of these Republicans
kind of criticize trump
obliquely but not actually want
to do it directly.
And she clearly seems to fall in
that lane so far.
When you look at her statements
over just the last year, I mean,
from January 6th insurrection,
saying that trump let us down,
we shouldn't have followed him,
to then saying that she would
not run if he ran, and that she
would support him, to now
running herself.
It's not really clear where
Nikki Haley actually stands and
that's something she has to
focus on.
How does she define herself to
these Republican primary voters.
>> If you're watching at home
saying why don't you care about
what trump said about her or
Pompeo said about her?
This is her announcement day.
We focus on who they are and
what they want to do.
But one of the key points she
made here is she talked about
it.
She talked about being the
daughter of immigrants in a
state like South Carolina.
She says it's defined her life.
>> The railroad tracks divided
the town by race.
I was the proud daughter of
Indian immigrants.
Not black, not white.
I was different.
But my mom would always say,
your job is not to focus on the
differences.
But the similarities.
>> Again, that part of her
biography is compelling.
Will she choose or will she try
to be all things to all slices
of the Republican primary?
Because if she's a general
election candidate, her team and
her team argues we'll get back
suburban women who can't vote
for trump, we'll get back
dependents looking for fiscal
conservatives, maybe are pro
life but don't want someone
hitting them in the head with
it.
Where is her lane?
>> It's not where she's going
right now, which I guess in a
lot of ways is understandable
because that's not the
electorate she's appealing to,
it's Republicans.
The part right after what you
played in the video, she talks
about the need to not talk about
the differences so much and talk
about similarities when it comes
to race and other parts of
America.
She has an image of AOC looking
angry, and she has another image
of an African American woman.
I thought that was absolutely
fascinating because she is a
woman of color.
And she's trying to show that
she's with the Republicans when
it comes to the culture wars and
everything that Ron Desantis and
you name it have been talking
about when it comes to trying to
exploit the differences on
ethnicity and race as opposed to
bringing them together.
>> Here's the question I can't
answer.
If you go back to earlier in our
days, pre-trump days, she's a
candidate very good in small
group settings like this.
Meaning she could have great
appeal in Iowa.
Then her state, South Carolina,
is third in the process.
You can see it in the old map
and calendar.
Does that world still exist?
>> I don't know if that world
still exists, especially the way
she's prepting herself.
She's not saying the thing head
on.
Even her own question, she faces
questions because her parents
are immigrants from far right
Republicans, how does she plan
on winning a Republican primary
talking to the same people that
she's trying to cater to that
might be skeptical already of
her?
>> A great point.