Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) called for generational changes when asked what differentiates her from former President Trump as she kickstarted her presidential run this week.
In an appearance on Wednesday on Fox News, Haley was asked by Sean Hannity where she and Trump hold differences on issues.
“Look at everything that’s wrong in this country and tell me we don’t need new leadership,” she responded. “But the difference is we need new generational leadership. We have to leave the status quo. We have to leave this chaos behind and we’ve gotta start talking about the future.”
Haley launched her White House bid on Tuesday, becoming the first Republican to formally challenge Trump in the GOP primary. She demanded new leadership in the Republican Party in her campaign video and echoed the same sentiment in her public remarks announcing the campaign and in her Fox News interview on Wednesday.
Hannity repeated his initial question later in the interview, asking again “what specific policy areas” she splits from Trump on. Haley again avoided the Trump question and took aim at President Biden.
“What I am saying is I don’t kick sideways,” she said. “I’m kicking forward. Joe Biden is the president. He’s the one I’m running against.”
Haley, 51, called for mandatory “mental competency tests” for politicians older than 75 on Wednesday, a move that would target both Biden and Trump, who are 80 and 76 years old, respectively.
When asked about Haley’s bid for the presidency, Trump said in an interview with Fox News that he is “glad” she is running.
“I’m glad she’s running,” Trump said. “I want her to follow her heart — even though she made a commitment that she would never run against who she called the greatest president of her lifetime.”