In a wide-ranging interview with ABC News, Republican Presidential candidate Nikki Haley discussed her views on abortion, trans children competing in sports with cis-heterosexual children, and Israel’s bombing of Palestinians. The interview, which aired on Dec. 11, saw Haley toe the line regarding her view that former President Donald Trump is fit for the presidency, just not fit for this cycle.
Haley hinted during the first GOP debate that were he to be selected as the Republican Party’s candidate, she would not fight her former boss’s nomination.
Haley told ABC News, “It’s not about fitness. I think he’s fit to be president. It’s ‘Should he be president?’ I don’t think he should be president. I thought he was the right president at the right time.”
Haley’s thoughts about the bombing
of Palestinians were more straightforward, as she continued her campaign talking points, ignoring the consideration of a ceasefire. Haley declared that Gaza should be in the hands of Israel, saying, “Israel does not want Gaza, but they don’t want terrorists living in Gaza. So I think it needs to be a situation where the Israeli border is safe and protected and Gaza is no longer a bed for terrorists to act. And so I think we have to figure out how this is going to work.”Haley continued, “You can’t go through something like Oct. 7 and chance that happening to your people again because Hamas has already said that they’re going back. They’re going to do it again.”
When asked about the case of Kate Cox, the 31-year-old Texas
woman whose fight against the abortion policies of the state has encapsulated the debate over abortion rights, Haley was evasive and seemed uninformed about how Texas Supreme Court justices are selected.Haley told ABC News, “I don’t know the details of the case that you’re referring to. What I can tell you is I don’t think that this issue needed to be in the hands of unelected justices. It needs to be in the hands of the people because it’s a personal issue for every woman and man.”
Haley also firmly placed herself on the side of pro-lifers, despite saying earlier that it should be up to individuals to decide if they wanted to have abortions or not, pointing out, “We’re watching states make these decisions. Some states are going more pro-life. I welcome that. Some states are going more on the choice side. I wish that wasn’t the case, but the people decide.”
Haley made extensive remarks about trans people during the interview, using the term “biological boys” to refer to trans girls, as she maintained that trans kids could play with each other if they wanted to play a sport, but not other children. Haley said, “They can find a place for trans kids to play sports, but biological boys should not be playing in girls’ sports.”
She added, “We have to remember that strong girls become strong women. Strong women become strong leaders. That doesn’t happen by putting biological boys in women’s sports. You’ve got women who have worked so hard all their life to really get to points in high school and college where they want to, and to have a biological man, who’s physiologically different, athletically, go and take that away from those women, no, we’re not gonna erase the women like that. You can’t do that. You can find other ways of dealing with this, but it doesn’t have to be on the backs of our girls, who we’re trying to make strong. It’s the wrong thing to do, and I’ll always fight against that.”
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