Shock and awe: Nikki Haley surprises Washington with early 2024 announcement

For weeks, former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley teased that a “big announcement” was coming on Wednesday.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, she preemptively debuted her 2024 campaign in a video Tuesday morning in an apparent bid to cultivate multiple days of media coverage as she begins her quest for the presidency.

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“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 if you’re wearing heels,” she said in the video while striking an optimistic tone about the United States.

FILE – President Donald Trump speaks with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley before a meeting during the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters, Sept. 18, 2017. Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, announced her candidacy for president on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Seth Wenig/AP

A myriad of national reporters booked flights and hotels to Charleston, South Carolina, under the assumption that her campaign announcement would be given at the Wednesday event. Now that she has already launched, her campaign will likely enjoy at least two days of considerable national press coverage.

Haley’s announcement also preceded other heavyweight Republicans, making her the first major candidate to challenge former President Donald Trump, her onetime boss who commenced his 2024 campaign last November.

This puts her directly in the line of fire from Trump, who is known for ruthlessly thrashing his political foes with inflammatory rhetoric and giving little to no mercy.

Already, Trump has unleashed some broadsides against her, needling her with an old clip posted on his Truth Social platform in which Haley said she would back him in 2024. “Nikki has to follow her heart, not her honor. She should definitely run,” he chided in that Truth Social post.

Some analysts theorized that big names such as Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and others have opted to wait to make room for Trump to wear himself down and spare themselves from the near-certain slugfest that debilitated Trump’s GOP foes in 2016.

But the early debut also gives Haley a chance to cement herself as a viable alternative to Trump and stand out in what could become a very crowded field. Polling shows that she is trailing Trump and DeSantis.

Currently, she appears to have minimal campaign infrastructure in the early states of Iowa and New Hampshire, with limited to no staff or advisers there, according to the Dispatch.

By starting early, she is giving herself time to ramp up and address some of the political hurdles in her way.

Haley is set to stump in New Hampshire on Thursday and Friday before heading off to Iowa for a series of town-hall-style campaign events. This also contrasts with Trump, who has done limited campaign stops since his November launch. Financial filings indicate that Trump’s campaign haul has racked in less money than expected, which could explain the lack of blockbuster rallies.

Voter fatigue may also be a problem. Haley is jumping into the ring nearly four months after voters in battleground states were bombarded with ads for the midterm elections. Her entry indicates that their reprieve from the political fracas will likely be short-lived.

Others mulling a run are surely watching Haley’s debut with bated breath as they contemplate whether or not to accelerate their timeline for getting into the race.

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Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) is set to commence a “listening tour” in Charleston, the day after Haley’s event, followed by a multiday trek to Iowa next week as he mulls a 2024 entry of his own. Both Scott and Haley are slated to appear at a presidential candidate forum in South Carolina next month.

Meanwhile, DeSantis, who has consistently polled as the top potential GOP challenger to Trump, is reportedly eyeing a summertime announcement.