On Wednesday, Donald Trump announced yet another selection in his controversial and bigoted cabinet – South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
Haley, who is herself an immigrant from India, accepted the nomination from Trump and said she will abdicate her position as Governor as soon as the Senate confirms her placement.
Though Haley has limited foreign relations experience, an important skill for her new position, it is not surprising to see her take a step upward in the political chain. Haley was the Republican chosen to give a rebuttal to President Obama’s final State of the Union Address earlier this year, and she impressed many with her well-spoken, strongly-worded speech.
Haley released a comment on her acceptance of the position, where she merely said she “agreed” to do what Trump asked. She said that a sense of duty compelled her to take the position, not a belief that she was the best choice nor a desire to work closely with the President-elect.
Haley and Trump’s new relationship is a surprising one considering how strongly she opposed his nomination during the primaries. Haley made clear during the primaries that she supported Republican Marco Rubio, and repeatedly took Trump to task for his divisive and racist rhetoric.
During the election, Haley repeatedly called on Trump to soften his racial language, demanding that he disavow support he received from the KKK. Even during the aforementioned State of the Union rebuttal, Haley made a veiled criticism of Trump, calling on members of her party to “turn down the volume.”
Despite her criticism of the nominee, she said during the primaries in a CNN interview that it was nothing personal.
“I have disagreements with other presidential candidates. There’s lots of things, but I will say tone matters, message matters and responsibility matters.”
Always the careful politician, these comments by Haley may have rocketed her to this new esteemed position.
