As Nikki Haley vies for the 2024 Republican Presidential Nomination, her husband embarks on a year-long military mission in Africa

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On Saturday, Nikki Haley’s husband embarked on a one-year deployment in Africa with the South Carolina Army National Guard. This deployment will span a significant portion of her campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Haley acknowledged her husband’s support during a deployment ceremony for around 200 soldiers at The Citadel, a military college in Charleston. “My support is entirely with him when he deploys, and his support is entirely with me in my presidential run. We aim to maintain communication as much as possible,” she said.

Maj. Michael Haley is assigned as a staff officer with the 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, providing support in the Horn of Africa, according to the National Guard. The United Nations, where Nikki Haley served as Donald Trump’s ambassador for two years, declares this region as facing the worst drought in 40 years. Over 43.3 million people in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya need assistance, with more than half lacking access to adequate food.

A U.N. conference held last month was able to raise less than $1 billion of the over $5 billion required to help more than 30 million people in the Horn of Africa deal with the climate crisis and mass displacement due to ongoing conflict.

Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor, has been vocally critical of President Joe Biden’s performance as commander in chief. She has objected to his administration’s initiatives to increase diversity in the military, claiming they weaken the force and hinder recruitment. However, the Army has countered that the real issue lies in many young people’s perception of enlistment as unsafe or not a suitable career path.

Haley has also committed to slashing $46 billion in foreign aid to nations she claims “despise America.”

Throughout her campaign, Michael Haley, Nikki’s husband of 26 years, has been a steady presence at her events. During his deployment, their college-aged son, Nalin, will assume this role.

Nikki Haley often emphasizes her role as a military wife. Her husband first deployed overseas in January 2013, during her first term as governor, leaving her to care for their children, aged 10 and 14 at the time.

While campaigning in Greer, South Carolina, Haley mentioned her husband’s deployment and criticized the Biden administration’s disorganized withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. At a CNN town hall in Iowa, Haley referred to her husband’s deployment as the beginning of “a year-long prayer for their strength, effectiveness, and safe return.”

Haley also spoke about her husband’s forthcoming deployment in light of the U.S. Department of Justice’s charges against her 2024 competitor, Trump, over the alleged mishandling of classified documents.

Nikki Haley maintains her husband’s service has shaped her perspectives on foreign policy and military strategy. “We need to avoid strategies that place our servicemen and women in harm’s way. They are going to Africa because it is a hotspot,” she said. “Our military’s overseas deployment is fundamentally about ensuring our safety back home.”

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Meg Kinnard can be contacted via Twitter at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Nikki Haley’s 2024 Presidential Campaign

More about Nikki Haley’s 2024 Presidential Campaign

• Nikki Haley’s Official Campaign Website
• South Carolina Army National Guard
• 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade Information
• United Nations Report on the Horn of Africa
• Nikki Haley’s Criticism of Biden’s Military Diversity Efforts
• The U.S. Department of Justice’s case against Donald Trump
• Biden Administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan