It’s been a good week for Nikki Haley.
The 2024 presidential hopeful was endorsed by popular New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, and a new CBS News poll has her gaining on the front-runner, former President Trump. Her best moment, though, came in a joint interview with Sununu and ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl.
In the interview, Haley is polished and poignant. Her answers are delivered with compassion and conviction. She says, “Americans are tired. They want government to work for them again.”
Karl asks about the New Hampshire primary, Trump’s court cases and the Jan. 6 events at the Capitol. The former United Nations ambassador handles it brilliantly. She is consistent with her principles and talking points, saying, “Jan. 6 was a terrible day, and I think that the tone at the top matters,” and “he was the right president at the right time.” But of Trump, Haley says, “Nobody wants that chaos again.”
Haley is recognizing Jan. 6 for what it was: a black eye after a night of drinking. Something we need to learn from and not repeat. She is holding Trump accountable for his failure to act while events were unfolding. She is also recognizing that the American people picked Trump because they wanted a little chaos, but now that they’ve seen it, they want something else. Someone serious.
Someone like Haley.
Explaining the nuances of Jan. 6, Haley says, “When President Trump had the opportunity to stop it, when he had the opportunity to say it, the bully pulpit matters. People listen. He didn’t.” She is recognizing Trump’s power and his choice not to use it — and she isn’t letting him off the hook for it.
As the interview goes on, Karl presses the former governor about Trump, saying, “He’s running on retribution. He wants to go out, and he talks about annihilating his enemies. … What do you think of that?” Haley’s response: “You guys are exhausting. You’re exhausting, in your obsession with him.”
She points out that “normal people aren’t obsessed with Trump” like the media is. Ordinary people “care about the fact they can’t afford things.” They care about how the “government is too big.”
The media gives Trump a lot of attention. Attention is a positive power. Trump understands how to wield power for himself better than most, and he uses that power to keep himself at the top of the polls.
Those in the media who are concerned about what the ex-president would do with more power should stop giving him so much now. Everyone has a voice, but not everyone has the right to a microphone. If the media stopped letting him live inside their heads, Trump’s voice wouldn’t reach enough voters to win. He could always buy a microphone and do it himself.
In the interview, Haley shows the American people she has what it takes to be president. Like former President Teddy Roosevelt, she’s listening to the people, she’s standing on principle and she understands the complex nature of power. Like former President Lincoln, and with Sununu, she is building a quality team.
Haley is right — Americans want a smaller government that works for them. They want things to be affordable again. They are done with chaos. They are done with Trump.
The media should follow Haley’s lead.
Jeff Mayhugh (@jmayhugh28) is the co-founder of the Madisonian Republicans and a former candidate for Virginia’s 10th congressional district.