Haley Enabled Trump’s Birtherism and Racism. Now She’s the Target

Is there anyone who didn’t see this coming once polling showed Nikki Haley within single digits of Trump in New Hampshire? Well, for those who either didn’t think of it or discounted the possibility the totally predictable has happened. Trump has unleashed a racist inspired attack on Nikki Haley’s “qualification” to be President. He’s playing the “Birther Card” against Haley who was born and raised here but who’s parents (legal immigrants) hadn’t yet obtained citizenship themselves. Not that that would matter to Trump. Not being white and of western European heritage Haley is of “poison blood” and that’s enough to cripple her in the eyes of MAGAs.

MeidasTouch Network has published an article about this attack Trump is unleashing on Haley. You can be sure it’s only the opening salvo. It starts out noting how predictable this all is, and the irony of Haley who ducked and even tacitly endorsed birther crap and also Trump racism is now going to take a turn at being the target of it. As I’ve noted, Haley was born here and is therefore a U.S. citizen, literally “natural born.” Lest we forget the Constitution lists only two qualifiers for the Presidency: being 35 years old and a natural born citizen.

Since at times there were questions about exactly what “natural born” meant laws were passed clarifying such things. Many, especially since Trump got heavily into what’s called “birtherism” have wanted to change things and take away birthright citizenship. But the fact is Haley was born here in the U.S. to parents who had immigrated here and making lives here and would go on to become U.S. citizens themselves. But for Trump and so many (way too many) that’s simply not good enough. Beyond that the real issue Trump has is that Haley might embarrass him in New Hampshire. For a variety of reasons including and especially Chris Christie dropping out and encouraging his supporters there (it’s the only state where he had decent numbers of supporters and easily enough to have an impact) to vote for Haley she’s poised to give Trump a run for his money. Hell, maybe even win.

That is something Trump can bear to contemplate. He’s been in court today trying to intimidate everyone into being afraid to again rule against him in a (civil) trial, but come this evening or tomorrow at the latest Trump will go full scorched earth on Nikki Haley. Ironically that could backfire in New Hampshire. However, as the pundits started talking about last night AFTER New Hampshire she’s looking at a tough electoral map when it comes to being a GOP candidate. Almost every state after New Hampshire and through Super Tuesday the “Evangelical Vote” will play a huge role and those people will go heavily for Trump. Well, that’s a longer issue to discuss but I have to point it out here.

What matters is that Haley is about to face the same problem every other non-white (and add non-male to that) GOPer has always had. The GOP will use them, and allow a handful a fair amount of success BUT when it can matter most smack them down. Like an antebellum plantation owner slapping down the head House N****r with a “You’d best recognize your place and not get all uppity on me” type admonishment. Along with some punishment that stings with a stern reminder it will get a lot worse if Master isn’t obeyed. Again, absent something extraordinary or Trump suddenly keeling over dead he’s going to get the nomination. But embarrassing him simply won’t be tolerated. And some woman, and one who isn’t at least WHITE doing it is in for a world of hurt from Trump and MAGA.

There was a time in our politics that Haley would have made a substantial run at getting the GOP nomination, and even being competitive in a general election. That’s especially true given how as a Governor she burnished her foreign policy credentials via a couple of years as U.N. Ambassador. As  part of the Trump administration! Unlike most, she seemed to get away with a minimum of damage by association with Trump. She said all the right things and they parted ways on a good and clean a terms as anyone could hope for given how Trump is. Haley it seemed was poised for 2024 IF Trump didn’t run. Or, being young 2028 or even 2032.

Well, Haley decided to take a crack at the Presidency this year even after for a while saying if Trump decided to run she’s sit things out. Perhaps, like many a candidate she tried to play the “I’ll run and give it a try but also avoid burning bridges and maybe get picked as VP” tactic. Hey, she wouldn’t be the first candidate to lose in the primaries only to wind up on the ticket in the number 2 slot. So, Haley tried to play the game by offering pretty tame criticism of Trump but avoiding really going after him like Chris Christie did. I’m betting she had dreams of the Vice-Presidency dancing in her head. Apparently nothing Mike Pence went through made her stop and wonder whether that would actually be a good thing. In any case Haley visited all the proverbial stations of the Trump GOP/MAGA cross that any minority GOPer must do to gain acceptance:

Haley, like other Republican minorities, has unabashedly embraced Trump, denied the existence of racism in the United States, railed against DEI and so-called ‘wokeism,’ and even refused to acknowledge slavery was the cause of the Civil War. Non-white Republicans have often found themselves walking a tricky tightrope, tapping into minority narratives and experiences enough to stand out as a diverse or authentic voice — while simultaneously denying charges of racism against their own party’s base and leadership.

Haley played the game, and was so into doing so she made that incredible gaffe when asked a simple question about slavery in a Town Hall.  Just as she had gotten on a roll she suddenly had to waste precious time on damage control. I’m sure the big money donors were giving her the “WTF? and she was getting ripped in news coverage so to stop the bleeding she did the only thing she could do. Haley became slightly critical of Trump in the past couple of weeks. She’s still pulled punches, talking about how “good a President he was at the time” but that “it’s time to hand things over to a new generation” – in other words trying to have things both ways.

If she wasn’t polling so close to Trump in New Hampshire she could likely get away with this and be okay in the next Presidential cycle, or perhaps two. Not anymore, especially since Trump had already begun to embrace the whole “poison blood” rhetoric. Right then and there Haley’s chance at being VP, or having any other cabinet level role in a new Trump administration for that matter went poof.  Now she’s going to be enemy #1 for Trump, or share that distinction with President Biden. I think a year from now, perhaps even long before that Haley will come to regret having run this year. And bemoan having blown her chance at, had she had some patience the brass ring.  However, like other non-whites in the GOP she thought she was immune from how things really work in that Party.

The linked article explains how yet again a nasty dynamic in the GOP is being exposed and that the illusion of inclusion and acceptance is only an illusion! “It’s a clear reminder that embracing such ideologies or aligning with figures like Trump doesn’t grant immunity from the very prejudices they propagate.”

MeidasTouch Network sums it all up well:

While Trump’s birther-style attack on Haley is undeniably racist and unjustifiable, it’s also a moment of reckoning. It’s a wake-up call for minorities who believe that alignment with the GOP’s current trajectory offers a path to wider acceptance. History has shown that such alliances are tenuous. The Republican Party, as it stands, remains a complex and often unwelcoming landscape for those who don’t fit a certain mold. Nikki Haley’s current struggle is a testament to that harsh reality.

Haley is likely to do quite well in New Hampshire and maybe even humiliate Trump by beating him there. If that happens she will I predict get a bitter dose of “be careful what you wish for” because Trump and his MAGAs will make her pay for the rest of her life.