Ambassador Nikki Haley joined me this morning:

Audio:

02-13hhs-haley

Transcript:

HH: I am joined now by the Ambassador, so I’m going to go from tape to live. Good morning, Ambassador Haley. Welcome back to the Hugh Hewitt Show.

NH: Good morning, Hugh. It’s great to be with you again.

HH: I was just playing your comments with Jake Tapper. I’m going to come back to your husband’s deployment and the former President in a moment. I want to begin with the breaking news. The United States Senate just passed a $95 billion dollar bill that will aid Israel, Taiwan, Ukraine, and our Defense industrial base. Would you have voted for that if you were in the Senate?

NH: Well, first of all, I mean, I think we have to look at each of those separately. I don’t ever like when they like group a bunch of things together, because you can’t dissect it. The first thing I’ll say is I don’t believe we should ever give any country straight up cash, because you can’t follow it, and you can’t hold it accountable. I do think that supporting Ukraine with equipment and ammunition is preventing war, because Putin has made it very clear that once he takes Ukraine, Poland and the Baltics are next. Those are NATO countries. That puts us at war. So helping Ukraine win this is preventing war. Israel, that is preventing a terrorist threat. You know, we know Israel is the tip of the spear when it comes to defeating terrorism. And so for us to have the backs of Israel, I think, is very, very important. And I’m not sure what else was in the bill.

HH: Taiwan and our Defense industrial base. Now Speaker Johnson has said, Madam Ambassador, that he’s not going to bring it up. A discharge petition will circulate. Do you recommend that the bill, that Republicans sign the discharge petition in order to pass the aid as it’s written?

NH: Well, rather than talking about Congress, I think the American people need to know exactly what’s in the bill. I mean, the first thing I’ll tell you is the part that I have, the problem I have with both Biden and Congress is they don’t ever think the American people deserve to know anything. They don’t tell them why they need to care about Ukraine. They don’t tell them why they need to care about Israel. They don’t talk about what the issues are with Taiwan. They don’t talk about what’s in a bill. And so then, you’ve got members that just tell you parts of what they want you to hear. They don’t tell you the full story. And I think that’s the first place where I know as president, and what I did as governor is I always over-communicated. I told everybody everything I knew and then got them invested in where we were going to go from there. So what I will tell you is show the American people exactly what’s in it. Yes, we need to support Ukraine with equipment. Yes, we need to help Israel so that they can defeat terrorism, who says death to America. Yes, we need to make sure that China doesn’t invade Taiwan by making sure that Taiwan can properly defend itself. But we need to make sure there’s no straight up cash in there that’s just going to go to where we can’t follow it. And so that’s the issue that I have, is we can’t afford to waste any more taxpayer dollars on things that don’t actually prevent war and protect national security for the American people.

HH: I believe there is straight up cash in there, and I believe that they’re giving money to Ukraine for humanitarian aid. That said, I’ll…

NH: Well, and I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you if there’s, before they were giving money to Ukraine to also run their government. And that’s something the Europeans can give that money if they want to. That is not, I don’t think America should ever give straight up cash.

HH: So you would be a no in the House or the Senate?

NH: I would be quit making this a Christmas tree bill, and let’s make it right. The other thing I want to say about this, this was the same thing with the border bill, is just because a bad bill goes out there, or just because a weaker bill goes out there, Congress doesn’t get to wipe their hands and walk away. You stay in there and you fix it, and you get it right. That’s the problem, is that Congress is not getting anything done, is go in there and don’t stop until it’s exactly what the American people need. All they do is peacock on TV and talk about how oh, it was bad, or oh, it was good, or oh, this got defeated. But they never go and do anything to get it right. And Congress has gotten very lazy that way, and the American people are tired of it.

HH: So let me now turn to Israel. The President Biden has cautioned Israel about going into Rafah where the Hamas leadership and the hostages are. What do you think about that? And ought the IDF finish the job now and aid come later?

NH: I wish he would put as much energy into calling out Iran, calling out the Arab countries who support Iran, calling out Hamas for what they did. I mean, I’ve seen this game before. Everybody runs to Israel’s side when they, when she gets hit. But then when she hits back, everybody wants to condemn her. And I think the problem is you know, Israel has to protect themselves. Hamas has made it very clear they will do this again. You cannot blame Israel for the fact that they’re trying to defend themselves. But let’s think about what’s happening in Gaza. Everybody should feel, you know, bad about the people in Gaza. But why isn’t Egypt taking them? Why isn’t Qatar taking them? Why isn’t Jordan taking them? Why isn’t Turkey taking them? The reason they’re not taking any of the people in Gaza is because they can’t tell which ones are Hamas and which ones aren’t. That’s the same thing with Israel. So don’t treat Israel with a different standard than you’re treating the rest of the Arab community.

HH: So my last question about Israel is that President Biden said in the press conference that melted down on Thursday that from the beginning, Israel’s response has been over the top. And it’s clear he meant Israel. He didn’t mean Hamas. Do you think Israel has been ‘over the top’?

NH: On that day when they beheaded those people and burned those babies alive, and took those girls from the concert and raped them and dragged their naked bodies through the streets of Gaza, and you think about what they said, death to Israel, death to America, no, I don’t think that’s over the top. I know Israel well enough to know they value life. And I know they’ll do everything they can to take care of life. But at the same time, you can’t expect them to tiptoe around terrorists who just brutalized their people.

HH: I think you meant their response is not over the top, not the actual attack, but their response is not over the top.

NH: Right, right, right.

HH: Would you support the invasion of Rafah at this moment, even though there are million Gazans crammed in there?

NH: I think what I would do is tell Egypt and Qatar and Turkey to say what are you going to do to get Iran and Hamas to stop? What, no pressure is being put on Iran. No pressure from any of the international community. That’s the first thing I would do, is say go to these countries and say what are you going to do to make Iran have Hamas pull back? What are you going to do to stop that? That’s the first thing, because you do want to go and save as many lives as you can. But if that doesn’t work, then that’s on the Arab community. That’s not on Israel. And we’ve got to make sure that we eliminate Hamas very clearly, because it’s not just Israel that’s in danger. It’s America that’s in danger. And we’ve got to do whatever it takes to protect our allies and protect ourselves.

HH: We’re going to take a short break, but you mean going, by eliminating Hamas, that includes Hamas in Rafah, correct, Madam Ambassador?

NH: Yes. Yes.

HH: Okay, I’m going to be right back with Ambassador Haley.

— – – – – –

HH: I am back now with Ambassador Nikki Haley. Ambassador, I have written a piece for Fox News this morning saying Joe Biden should simply resign. He is not competent. He is infirm, and I’ve known that for a long time, but now the Hur report has persuaded me he’s impaired. Do you believe the President should resign?

NH: Yes, I do, and I think the Democrat Party knows that. And I think that it is not just in the best interest of their party. It’s in the best interest of the country. What I will tell you, and I have said this from the very beginning, the party that gets rid of their 80-year old candidate is the party that will win. We cannot have a country in disarray in a world on fire and have two presidential candidates in their 80s when we need someone who’s going to put eight years into making sure that we are disciplined, focused on getting our economy, the border, preventing war, and getting our country back on track.

HH: Many Republicans recoil in horror at the prospect of a year of President Kamala Harris. What do you say them, because I agree with you. I think President Biden simply has to get, because the crises come and go, and there’s one right now in Israel. But what do you say to the Republicans who say we can’t have Harris for a year?

NH: Well, I can tell you that we are going to have a president of the United States, a female president of the United States. It will either be me, or it will be Kamala Harris, because if Donald Trump runs, you have seen in multiple polls he cannot win a general election. There was a Marquette poll just two days ago in Wisconsin. He does not defeat Joe Biden. I defeat Joe Biden in Wisconsin by 15 points. Look at all the other swing states. But not only that, Hugh, look at the fact Donald Trump lost in 2018. He lost in 2020. He lost in 2022. But look at last week. He loses his case on immunity, so now he’s going to be Citizen Trump. We lose the bill on censoring Mayorkas. We lose the bill on Israel. The RNC chair loses her job. The RNC is broke. And Trump has spent $50 million dollars of campaign contributions on his personal court cases. You can’t win a general election like that. There’s no way.

HH: Okay.

NH: And we can’t afford a Kamala Harris. That should send a chill up everybody’s spine.

HH: But I want to move, I want to move on to what the President said about your husband, but one more question. If Biden resigned, and you and I agree he should, that means Kamala Harris for a year. Can we do that? I mean, can she handle it for a year, do you think? At least, I mean, she’s all there, but she’s not very competent.

NH: No, I don’t think Kamala Harris can handle it, but I don’t know that she’s any worse or better than Joe Biden. I mean, right now, you look at the leadership there, it’s terrible no matter what you do. But the idea that Russia, China, and Iran can see that we have a, you know, mentally diminished president is a threat to all Americans, because right now, what keeps me up at night is what happens between now and Election Day. And so…

HH: Did you think Mr. Hur was out of line when he said an elderly man with memory problems?

NH: I mean, look. I think that we have to always make sure that none of our agencies are political, and that’s why they all need to be cleared out. But you look Joe Biden from two years ago, and you look at Joe Biden now. He’s not wrong. I mean, look at the press conference Joe Biden gave after that. He was angry. He was, you know, lashing out. But what happened, he gets countries confused. We see it in a press conference. We see it when they have to go grab his hand and help him off stage. It is not a good look for America, and it’s terrifying for me knowing Russia, China, and Iran know we’re at our weakest point. And when America is weak, when America is distracted, the world is less safe. And right now, we are watching that with the wars happening all over.

HH: I’m coming right back with Ambassador Haley. Stay tuned.

— – – —

HH: Ambassador Haley, I played your conversation with Jake Tapper last night, so we know what you think, that the audience knows what you think about the President’s attack on your husband who is deployed. Did the President, former President, ever meet your husband while you were the ambassador to the UN? Does he know that he’s in the Army?

NH: Yes, he knows he’s in the Army. Yes, he knows that he’s deployed. He knew he was deployed when he said that. He’s met him on multiple occasions. I mean, Hugh, this was, I mean, look, this is not a place for me or Michael to take this personally, because in politics, I think that’s what’s wrong with politics. We see it with Donald Trump. We see it with Joe Biden. Everything is about them, and they take it personally. What bothers me is this is about every military man and woman out there. This is about every military family who sacrifices and knows that it’s like to have their loved one deployed. And this is about a pattern of Donald Trump. I mean, he has said this before where he calls military members suckers or losers. We know that when he was at Arlington Cemetery, he said what was in it for them. He has never even been close to a military uniform. And for him to go and mock my husband or any of our men and women in the military, it shows how disconnected he is from the sacrifice, and what these men and women do every day not because they care for themselves, not because they do it for fun, but because they know that freedom isn’t free. And they’re willing to shed blood for it. And the idea that he’ll go and make light of something like this is exactly the reason we continue to have problems with him. When he leaves the teleprompter, he is unhinged. And everybody can say whatever they want to say in terms of oh, he was a great president. An unhinged president is an unsafe president. And if you’ll go talk about those men and women who served us, you don’t deserve to be president.

HH: Okay.

NH: And he’s never so much as been in harm’s way, except for when he’s in a golf cart in danger of getting hit by a golf ball. That’s it. I mean, he’s never once, he supposedly had bone spurs, and that’s why he didn’t go and serve. It’s inexcusable, it’s disgusting, and it’s uncalled for.

HH: Last question, Madam Ambassador. Michigan comes after South Carolina. The polls show you’re behind in South Carolina. I don’t know if you’re closing. Where are you in Michigan vis-à-vis Donald Trump?

NH: I mean, our focus is we’re taking it one step at a time. We are now, we’ve got people, you know, we’ve got some things we’re doing on the ground in Michigan. We’ve got some things we’re doing on Super Tuesday. Our focus right now is very much on South Carolina. And you know, our goal is to stay competitive. We’re going to continue to do that. You know, we were competitive when we got into Iowa when we started at 2% and ended at 20%. We were even more competitive when we got 43% of the vote in New Hampshire. We’re going to even focus on being even more competitive in South Carolina as we go on to Michigan and Super Tuesday.

HH: Are you in this through the convention?

NH: I am going to continue to go through Super Tuesday, because I think that we don’t do coronations. I think you know, you look at the fact that Trump came out and said anybody that supports her is permanently barred from MAGA. When you’re running for president, you don’t push people away. You bring people in. That’s how you win a general election. That’s why he can’t do it. But the second thing is what did he do? He tried to have the RNC name himself the presumptive nominee after only two states had voted. Let South Carolina vote. 10 days after South Carolina, 20 states vote. Let those states vote. And the fact that now he’s throwing out people on the RNC and replacing it with his people? That is no different than him naming himself the presumptive nominee. This is getting into territory that everybody should see red flags. This is not okay when someone now goes and takes over a party so that they can control what happens from here all the way until the convention. It’s, you know, I mean, I can say this until I’m blue in the face, Hugh. But you can only overlook so many things before you start to say something’s very wrong.

HH: Ambassador Nikki Haley, your team has given us the red flag. Thank you so much for joining us. I’ll talk to you again hopefully before the election in South Carolina and Michigan. Thanks for your time this morning.

NH: Thanks so much. Go to www.nikkihaley.com and join us. Thank you.

HH: Thank you.

End of interview.