Former United Nations (UN) ambassador and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley took the stage at the 2023 Iowa Lincoln Dinner, where she criticized President Joe Biden, labeling him as “weak.” During her speech, Haley assured the audience that she is truly running against Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
The Iowa Lincoln Dinner provides a platform for presidential candidates to address guests and outline their strategies on how they plan to defeat President Biden in the upcoming election. As the opening speaker at the event, Haley voiced her concerns about the current administration’s approach and highlighted her vision for the future.
“Biden has proven to be incredibly weak, and Kamala is not up for the job, and I will continue to say, a vote for Joe Biden is a vote for Kamala Harris. That’s who we’re actually running against. We have to make sure she doesn’t win,” Haley said.
The presidential candidate then scrutinized the Biden administration for its record on national security and foreign affairs, pointing to the Chinese Spy Balloon incident, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the rise of China, North Korea’s ballistic missile tests and Iran “building a bomb.” Haley then claimed none of this would have happened without the “debacle” in Afghanistan.
Haley also leveled a veiled criticism at Republicans for the $32 trillion national debate debt by alluding to the bi-partisan $2.2 trillion COVID stimulus bill.
“I would love to say Biden did that to us. But I’ve always spoken hard truths and I’m gonna do that with you today. Our Republicans did that to us, too.”
Haley emphasized the need for mental competency tests and appeared to allude to Mitch McConnell freezing mid-speech and having to be escorted off the podium. The former ambassador closed by noting that Washington, D.C. needs to be put “in order.”
Haley is currently polling at fifth place in the RealClearPolitics 2024 presidential race poll at 3.7 percent. For the second quarter of her campaign, Haley raked in $5.3 million, according to an FEC filing. She will enter the third quarter with nearly $7 million in cash on hand.
