Haley calls for 'new generation' of GOP leadership during campaign launch in South Carolina

February 16, 2023

Former Governor and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley launched her 2024 presidential campaign Wednesday morning in Charleston, South Carolina by calling for a "new generation" of GOP leadership, ostensibly herself.

“We’re ready… ready to move past the stale ideas and faded names of the past,” Haley, 51, said in her prepared speech. “And we are more than ready for a new generation to lead us into the future.”

Haley has remained popular in South Carolina since she left the governor's mansion in 2017 to be U.N. Ambassador under President Donald Trump, against whom she is now running.

She drew a large crowd that included over 100 members of the media and around 2,000 supporters.

Haley touted her record as governor, saying she "cut taxes, created thousands of jobs, and revitalized our economy.”

She called for mandatory cognitive tests for politicians over 75 years old, saying, "America is not past our prime. It’s just that our politicians are past theirs.” Trump is now 76 years old.