Haley, Name Differ in Approach to Trump as 2024 Jockeying Begins

While the two women have similarities in their political biographies – both were their states’ first female governors after serving in state law – how they interacted with Mr. Trump and his legacy shapes their early positioning in the future presidential field.

Ms. Haley, a South Carolinian who was a critic of Mr. Trump before becoming his United Nations ambassador for two years, has at times distanced himself from the former president, essentially continuing the approach she took when she didn’t. agreed with him during his reign.

Ms. Noem, the governor of South Dakota’s first term, is closely associated with Mr. Trump. On Friday, she would appear at his resort in Palm Beach, Florida, for a fundraising campaign that would benefit her 2022 reelection campaign. Mr. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., will host the $ 1,000 per person cocktail reception in Mar- a-Lago, along with his girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle.

As president, Mr. Trump visited South Dakota’s Mount Rushmore prior to Independence Day last summer and appeared with Mrs. Noem. As part of the visit, she presented him with a bronze miniature of the monument depicting him alongside former Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

Ms. Noem, who represented her state in Congress for eight years before becoming governor, has also received political advice from an adviser to the former president. Corey Lewandowski, who led part of Trump’s first presidential campaign, joined Ms. Noem at a meeting of the Republican National Committee in Florida in early January.

Ms. Haley also attended that RNC rally just after the January 6 riot at the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. She made significantly bigger waves there, using her speech to both praise Mr Trump’s performance in office and to criticize his behavior following his November election loss, when he repeatedly claimed he defeated President Biden.

“His actions since election day will be rigorously judged based on history,” she told members of the RNC. “It’s very disappointing.”

In a recent Politico interview, she took an even bigger swing at Mr. Trump. “I don’t think he will be in the picture,” said Ms. Haley of his future role in the party. ‘I don’t think he can. He has fallen so far. “

Gail Gitcho, a GOP strategist and former communications director for the Republican Governors Association, said Ms. Haley’s work during the Trump administration made her “a bit of a darling of conservatives” around the country.

“However, she has been criticizing him since Trump’s defeat, so she clearly sees a different path from many other candidates,” she said. “Governor Noem appears to be taking a more conventional path, acknowledging Trump’s continued popularity among Republican voters.”

More women could emerge as potential GOP presidential candidates for 2024 as the field is likely to tighten after next year’s midterm elections.

During a performance last weekend at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida, Ms. Noem mentioned the former president within the first 90 seconds of her speech. In her comments, she demonstrated her largely hands-off approach to the coronavirus pandemic, a style of government that has thrilled some conservatives.

“Covid has not crushed the economy. The government has crushed the economy, ”she said. “I don’t believe governors have the authority to tell you that your business is not essential.”

Ms. Noem has also fought mask mandates and encouraged a major motorcycle rally in her state last August, which attracted hundreds of thousands of people, sparking complaints in some that she had helped spread the virus nationally.

While national public health figures were critical of Ms. Noem’s approach and pointed out the high per capita infection rate in her state, the pandemic helped push the governor up among the conservatives at a time when Ms. Haley is not in office .

Ms. Noem finished second in a 2024 CPAC poll of potential presidential candidates, behind Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, when Mr. Trump was not included in the mix. She was supported by 11% of those in attendance, while Ms. Haley was supported by 3%.

Trump teased during his own CPAC appearance that he might become president a third time, a possibility that could freeze the field of potential candidates.

Ms. Haley had been invited to speak at the Conservative meeting, but an assistant said she had a previous commitment. She declined an interview request.

Ian Fury, Ms Noem’s spokesperson, said in an emailed statement following an interview request that she has no Oval Office ambitions. “As Governor Noem has often said, she has no interest in running for president,” he said. “She hopes the people of South Dakota are confident that she will serve as governor for four more years.”

Ms. Haley is already high on many GOP shortlists as a potential national candidate, in part because her biography as the daughter of Indian immigrants could make a compelling story for a Republican party often labeled anti-immigrant by critics under Mr Trump.

So far, Ms. Haley has largely been able to stay above the struggles of the GOP battles in Washington because, unlike nearly half of the roughly 20 people on unofficial lists of possible 2024 candidates, she is not in the U.S. Senate. That also means that she has rarely been bothered by tough questions from reporters in recent months and has not had to vote on divisive issues such as impeachment.

Her Twitter feed features near-daily criticisms of President Biden, as well as themes popular with the conservative base of the GOP. Ms. Haley also builds the kind of political organization that potential presidential candidates establish before declaring their intentions.

Ms. Haley recently hired the former National Republican Senatorial Committee political director to lead her new Stand for America political action committee, an entity that will allow her to compete in interim races, expand her donor network, and make rural political friends. to make. She also leads an eponymous nonprofit that focuses on conservative policies.

In addition to her political and policy work, Ms. Haley acts as a speaker for corporate and other clients who can each pay as much as $ 200,000.

Write to John McCormick at [email protected]