Just minutes after Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley finished her remarks in Raleigh’s Union Station on Saturday, Sheryl Crow's voice came blasting over the speakers — “Don't you think it's time we put a woman in the White House?”
Haley is the first woman of color to run for the GOP nomination for president and is the youngest candidate still in the race.
In her speech in Raleigh, she called for Congress to have term limits and said the body is becoming “the most privileged nursing home in the country.” After citing an Ipsos poll which stated that almost 60 percent of Americans believe former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden are too old to be president, she said it was time that the country has a new generational leader.
Haley is a distant second to Trump and has lost every primary contest thus far. As of March 3, Trump leads polls in North Carolina by 45 points.
Over the course of her half-hour stump speech, Haley railed against the growing national debt and emphasized the importance of having an accountant in the White House while pointing at herself. Haley has a bachelor's degree in accounting.
The crowd, large enough that voters had to stand in the overflow space behind the press pen, cheered loudly in response.
She said both Biden and Trump are responsible for rising living costs and growing interest payments on the national debt.
Haley also described her experience as a combat veteran’s wife and said the country needs to support veterans not only when they are serving, but also when they return home. She said America's withdrawal from Afghanistan led to security challenges, including Russian aggression and conflict in the Middle East.
Haley said she would support stronger enforcement on the U.S.-Mexico border, and said Trump pushed for Republicans to delay immigration reform until after the general election because it would hurt his reputation otherwise. Haley also called for a national E-Verify program to prevent undocumented people from being hired, defunding sanctuary cities, increasing the number of border patrol agents, reinstating a "Remain in Mexico" policy for asylum seekers and implementing a "catch and deport" policy.
