South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley caused a stir last week with her rebuttal to President Barack Obama's final State of the Union, in which she took a shot at Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump.
Haley cautioned against listening to “the siren call of the angriest voices” in the GOP, laying some of the blame for dysfunction in Washington on the Republican party.
“We need to recognize our contributions to the erosion of the public trust in America's leadership,” Haley said in her speech. “We need to accept that we've played a role in how and why our government is broken.”
Her speech drew both criticism and praise from Republican candidates and conservative pundits.
Trump was joined by candidates Carly Fiorina and Mike Huckabee, as well as pundits Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter in condemning Haley’s comments, as well as her stance on immigration.
Meanwhile, Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, were among the candidates supporting Haley.
Frank Pray, chairman of the UNC College Republicans, said her acknowledgement of the party's shortcomings can help the GOP grow.
“While some people definitely took issue with a few of the things she said, I think that overall her ability to talk about what some people do legitimately see as issues within the Republican Party was beneficial,” Pray said. “No party is perfect, including the Republican Party, and there are issues that we need to get over. Identifying those and starting to work on them is always a good thing.”
She also emphasized common Republican talking points, such as lowered taxes, smaller government, a stronger military and repealing the Affordable Care Act.
Paul Shumaker, a North Carolina-based conservative political consultant, said Haley’s speech was designed to appeal to a broader audience than the rhetoric used in the Republican debates.
"Rhetoric is what it is because she’s going to be on the short list for potential vice presidential candidates,” he said. “Whoever achieves the nomination is going to need to have a message that is going to appeal to a much broader universe of voters.”
Haley is being considered as a potential running mate for the eventual GOP nominee.
“I think that having her on the ticket will really take away the narrative from the Democrats of the whole war on women thing,” Pray said. “She’s young, she’s energetic and really what she represents is the future, the new guard of the GOP.”
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