Last month in a New Hampshire library, Nikki Haley told a crowd she would pardon Donald Trump if he is found guilty. She was answering the question of a bold nine-year-old boy. Here’s how she explained it: “What’s in the best interest of the country is not to have an 80-year-old man sitting in jail that continues to divide our country. What’s in the best interest of our country would be to pardon him so that we can move on as a country and no longer talk about him.”
She was not the only one on the GOP campaign trail to make that case. The next day in Iowa, Ron DeSantis—the guy who’s no longer in the race—said much the same, harking back to an earlier pardon in 1974. “It’s like Ford did to Nixon,” DeSantis said. “Because you just, you know, the divisions are just not in the country’s interest.”
I would argue that it was exactly in the country’s interest to have held the disgraced Richard Nixon accountable. A corrupt figure like Trump may have been more convinced that criminal violations from the White House could lead to conviction and possibly jail, that presidents are not immune, that he cannot count on pardons to absolve him of his crimes. Nikki Haley taught that little boy in the library the wrong lesson. As Chris Christie put it, a pardon signals there are “two systems of justice.”
Over the last seven years, we have seen Republicans enabling or glossing over Trump’s desecrations and degradations, the civil and criminal violations, resulting in a profound disservice to America and our democracy. Just moving on and no longer talking about him, as Haley pledged, represents the kind of wrong-headed attitude that may have been intended to wind a politically clever path between the primary-voting cult and the anti-Trump majority.
But on this day, which happens to be International Holocaust Remembrance Day, at a time of rising expressions of anti-semitism, Haley’s idea of moving on and no longer talking about Trump is a particularly grave error. Has not the Holocaust—has not American slavery and the Civil War—taught us that societies need to grapple openly and meaningfully with their deepest and darkest failures?
Haley’s promise to pardon Trump is part and parcel with her reluctance to criticize her opponent all these months. That has changed a bit in recent days since Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary, after Trump delivered an ugly “victory” speech because second-place finisher Haley was not giving up, insisting that “I don’t get too angry, I get even.” He subsequently gave her the misogynistic nickname “Birdbrain” and threatened all of her donors that he would get even. In a Fox News interview, Haley addressed Trump’s revenge-filled “temper tantrum” on primary night and called his threats against her donors and his bullying demands that the Republican National Committee declare him the presumptive nominee “totally unhinged.”
But even as South Carolina’s former governor tries to buoy her numbers and avoid a Trump blowout in her home state before the February 24 GOP primary, it’s hard to escape the fact her criticism is all too little too late. Then again, there’s a chance that Haley has finally figured out she needs to get tougher and actually take on her malignant rival. That would promise some bruising for Trump and many more examples of Trump’s hateful attitude towards a woman opponent—all of which is to the benefit of Joe Biden’s campaign once the Republican nominee is finalized.
In my essay last Monday, “The Pretend GOP Contest,” I failed to see the point of Haley’s spineless campaign beyond auditioning for VP. And I dreaded the inevitable “expressions of fealty to the man who belongs behind bars” after he wins the nomination. But I think it’s useful to pause and ask: Should she stay or should she go? Do you think she can be a valuable counterpoint to Trump’s unhinged madness in the coming weeks? Is she capable of grasping that just moving on and not talking about him is not in the country’s best interest? Will she ever acknowledge his 91 felony charges and his danger to democracy?
As always, I look forward to your observations and the opportunity for this thoughtful community to hear from and learn from each other. Please do be respectful in your comments.
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*Photo: Nikki Haley in Des Moines, Iowa, in November. By Jim Vondruska via Getty Images.
Ford’s pardoning Nixon was a massive mistake and a lot of us were enraged at the time. Nikki Haley is wrong. People who commit crimes must be held accountable no matter who they are.
I have no respect for her because she is dishonest, lacks integrity, and is a coward. That being said, she should keep running. trump receiving so few votes in the caucus and primary of two small states does not equate to a landslide of support.
She should stay, if only to exist as a stone in Donnie’s shoe an endless irritant to distract him and, perhaps, make him even more unhinged. Maybe if he gets really ugly (more so than already), it might turn off the less-rabid MAGA types.
I think it is obvious she should stay in the race. There is a good possibility:
• Trump has a conviction
• Trump has a health crisis
The same thing applies to the democratic side. It will not be Dean Phillips, but Gavin Newsome keeps his name in the news, just in case Biden’s health falters. Kamala Harris is not popular, she just doesn’t connect with enough of the electorate.
Biden 100% deserves re-election. The main risk to winning is his age resulting in a health crisis. If he is sound he will win.
Yes, she should stay and keep up with the temper tantrum and senior moment comments, at a minimum. I realize she probably won't ask questions about E. Jean, but at least she touched on it. I haven't seen anything about how Von Hilliard was pulled off of TFG pool coverage because he asked Elise stefanik about what she thought of the E. Jean defamation trial. Keep up the good work.
Stay. tRUmp might leave the party and, thus, split it, a la Teddy Roosvelt. Hopefully it would be the death of the party. (#TheRepublicanPartyMustDie [be disbanded])
I remember the Southern Project and, recently, I learned of the concurrent treason at the Paris Peace Talks. The party has gone downhill ever since. Newt Gingrich made excluding Democrats from power an explicit goal. SO, it's been a party of us-before-country for 56 (or more) years. That attracts con-men. Con-men attract the likes of Vladimir Putin. We see the result. It's not just tRUmp.
If Haley can get the party to split apart, it would be a huge success.
Nikki, for all her faults, MUST stay and pound Trump daily, get under his skin, twist the knife. It costs virtually nothing to do this. She can get an interview on any radio or TV show she wishes. This will drive him crazy, push him to even more unhinged behavior and make clearer -- every day -- his diminished mental health and unfittness for office.
@StevenBeschloss, I think you hit the nail on the head, as you usually do, with your comment, about Haley's idea of moving on and no longer talking about Trump, calling it, and I quote you: " a particularly grave error. Has not the Holocaust—has not American slavery and the Civil War—taught us that societies need to grapple openly and meaningfully with their deepest and darkest failures?" As you further elaborated, she has been walking this tightrope throughout her campaign. On one hand I think she is the best, now better since there are only 2, option for the GOP, not that I would vote for her because I don't want Conservatives to take more control of our government. However, I don't understand why she doesn't come out and take a real stand and really say that people who commit crimes should be punished and why should would hold Trump above the law. It would not divide out country more to have him punished. Though after Nixon resigned in disgraced to avoid impeachment, Ford later punished him to get the national nightmare over. It sends a very bad signal that no one will hold presidents who break the law accountable. That is not democracy. Those statements she makes are not going to get her into the VP stakes. She waffles too much and Trump demands total loyalty, to the point of groveling. Trump, the narcissist, would never think that Haley with her inroads into independent voters might help him win a general election. He is more interested, my opinion, in selecting a VP who has been TOTALLY LOYAL IN ALL RESPECTS. His ego tells him to take a like-minded person, such as Tim Scott, from a possibly important electoral college state (SC), or Elise Stefanik, from a state (NY) he is never likely to win but could possibly bring in some women voters. Of course, if Biden and Harris could do a better job of messaging and get the Roe v Wade issue back into the forefront, not on the basis of an abortion free for all, but on the factors that make it a necessary medical procedure often to save the life or health of the mother, especially when the fetus is not viable in vitro, or wouldn't survive long after birth, or be a totally damaged human, impossible to care for and putting a burden on parents and the government to support, with no quality of life, but just as a breathing entity. Back to the original question/issue posed, I think Haley's inability to take a firm stand for democracy and the Constitution, and not be afraid of offending Trump's cult base by saying he must be held accountable for his crimes, that doing so would not further divide the country, but rather, in time, would strengthen the Constitution and the values on which this country was founded, shows that she is not a strong leader. She is again caving to politics rather than leading. In my thinking, we need a person who is a strong leader, who is not afraid to make the difficult decisions, for the good of the country. We can't think how to get the GOP nomination and how to win the 2024 presidential election. We have to think long term.
Sorry Nikki, "an 80-year-old man sitting in jail" does not have a microphone... he would fade into oblivion. It's only his grandiosity that thinks his supporters would rise up. Now can we talk about jail, and ridding politics of all his enablers/abetters?
As much as I dislike Haley for many of the reasons mentioned in the article, pragmatically I'd like to see her stay in the race. She will serve a valuable purpose by continuing to attack Trump (hopefully harder and harder) in a widely viewed public forum. This will not only distract him, but it will also trigger outbursts of his pathological rage for all the voters to see. Trump has built his political career by attacking his opponents with exaggerated nonsense. It's time he received some of his own medicine, but with substance and truth behind it. Bring it, Nikki!
I think it’s cute that she thinks that the country would “stop talking about him” after a pardon, when we all know that he is never going to shut up until he’s either in jail or in the grave.
Indeed. Wasn't the pardon's concept issued in fact to repair an error of justice ?
How can you then decide to pardon someone who has been seen to obviously breach the law when hundred of thousands are imprisoned sometimes for life for the same reason ?
When Nixon was pardoned, I was all of 30. I had voted for him in '68; and in '72. At that time, one had to be 21 years-old to vote, so Tricky Dick was the first president I was eligible to vote for. Yeah, I know. But, still, I did NOT like Humphrey.
However, I do recall believing that Gerald Ford had done the right in pardoning Nixon. My reason in that then 30-year-old mind was what a conviction might do to an already torn country. Fast forward to our current world. By comparison to Nixon, Trump is a criminal on steroids. Trump has committed so many crimes he likely holds the record on criminal acts by anyone person, president or otherwise. Trump belongs in prison; solitary. No phones, no mics, no TVs. Isolate him and allow him to wallow in his self-created hell and his miserable self-pity. Frankly, no amount or degree of suffering or punishment for Trump would be sufficient.
As to Haley, she is from South Carolina. That is enough for me. Her remark that the U.S. has never been racist left me stilled in my tracks. Even though I would not and will not vote for Haley, I'd rather see her at the Republican helm than the orange traitor. That would confirm for me that there is at least SOME stability within the Republican cabal. Trump is a threat to any civilized society, and his followers are equally depraved and intellectually deprived. Republicans need to be saved from themselves and our nation needs to be saved the from Republicans en masse.
The most useful thing that could happen with Nikki staying in the race would be an actual televised debate between her & Trump. I think she could easily eat his lunch & all the viewers would have the opportunity to see how stupid & deranged he is.
I hope she stays. If she leaves it will be so boring. If she stays, at least through Super Tuesday it might give some of the lost Magats a reason to question why they support Trump. She should force him to debate. Physically or virtually.
Yes - Haley should stay and for as long as she chooses and has the necessary support. Seeing her build courage to go after the violent, serial misogynist liable for sexual assault and rape, criminal, violent insurrectionist, treasonous, deeply disgraced, failed and one term ex president may help build it in others. Seeing the failed ex president become so much more 'unhinged' and threatening just towards Haley is needed for the GOP and, especially, independent voters nationally.
Haley also needs to press the demand that Trump debate her on live TV as his only other GOP competition and loudly propose he is a coward should he still refuse. Do this keeping in mind that the criminal, treasonous failed one term president has no impulse control. Draw him out even further.
That the national GOP and chief 'MAGA' parasite, Ronna McDaniel wanted to overtly deny the relevance of 48 of our 50 states and simply anoint the disgraced, failed ex president the GOP winner is pathetic. After her own sublime cowardice, Haley can atone (to a point, anyway) by defying, standing up to, and disrupting the 'MAGA Cult Train.' I hope she stays around regardless of the results in South Carolina.
In my younger years I often viewed the Republican Party as the adults in the room: a counter to the sometimes unrealistic idealism of Democrats. Those were the Dwight Eisenhower/Everett Dirksen/Richard Lugar Republicans who embraced internationalism, (although Dirksen was initially an isolationist before seeing the light) civil rights, and many other 'woke' concepts, but retained their conservative economic values. Even though I frequently disagreed with Republican positions, I often saw value and truth in some of their thoughts. I viewed the debate as healthy. Compromise was not a dirty word.
Newt Gingrich severely wounded that party by eschewing compromise and placing party loyalty above policy. Mitch McConnell, Mark Meadows, and many others dealt more blows, and Donald Trump added the personal loyalty aspect to an already, perhaps terminally, corrupted party.
At one time, I hoped Nikki Haley could be the kind of throwback Republican I had valued. I'm no longer optimistic about that.
She should, however, stay in, but only of she keeps up the reality check of what Donald Trump actually is and what he stands for.
My, perhaps delusional, hope is that somewhere deep inside the kernel of what the Republican Party once was remains. If she can reveal it, that would be a service to us all.
While both Trump and Haley are a danger to our country, Nikki should stay in the race. This would turn up the pressure on Trump, further split the party and waste conservative mega donor money. While a long shot to actually secure the nomination, Haley’s campaign would cause Trump to become even more unhinged. This may serve to finally cause persuadable voters to recognize his mental, emotional and spiritual unfitness. And her own cruel policy stances and calls to pardon an unrepentant serial criminal may alarm swing voters. All of the above would benefit Biden.
I would like to see Nikki stay in for awhile, although I do not want her to be elected!
She flip flops on issues & showed her dark feelings about slavery etc.
But, she gets under Tyrumps skin, & I think that is helpful.
It would be terrible to pardon TYrump! It will embolden this behavior to occur again!
What seems to be happening, is most Democrats “play by the rules” most Republicans do not. And we see the Hypocrisy and foolishness of the Republican House almost daily.
I hope you don’t mind Sir, but I copied one of the great statements you just made and would like to share her:
“I would argue that it was exactly in the country’s interest to have held the disgraced Richard Nixon accountable. A corrupt figure like Trump may have been more convinced that criminal violations from the White House could lead to conviction and possibly jail, that presidents are not immune, that he cannot count on pardons to absolve him of his crimes. Nikki Haley taught that little boy in the library the wrong lesson. As Chris Christie put it, a pardon signals there are “two systems of justice.”
I agree
My heart breaks because TYrump & Republicans have endeavored to end our systems with mockery and disdain for greed and power.
I believe Nikki Haley will continue their goals to stay in power. I do not want her elected.
Stay in the race. Who knows. I remember a (true) quote from a state legislator that went: "When I started talking on this bill, I was for it; but the longer I've been talking, the more I'm against it." Lightning might strike twice.
I agree it was a mistake to pardon Nixon. The American voters who rejected President Ford’s re-election may have agreed too. To pardon a convicted former president would be a grave error. Whether to commute his jail sentence is a totally separate decision.
Nikki Haley could sharpen her criticism of DJT by altering her previous position. Instead of a pardon, commutation of a jail sentence might serve the nation’s interest, but only if the convicted former president expresses remorse for disgracing the presidency and the nation.
Didn’t the Republicans make the same argument twice when Trump was impeached? “He’s learned his lesson.” “We can move on now.” They said. We were all hoping that was true. Sad story is Trump won’t let us move on and never will. E Jean Carroll case for instance, he will not let her live in peace, he probably will be sued a third time for continuing his harassment. (Just a prediction). Trump will never let his base go, they will be a bane in society threatening those who openly oppose him until they forget about him which will probably be never. We are in this fight for Democracy for the long haul.
Nikki Haley needs to stay in the race by correcting two terribly flawed campaign statements. 1. She needs to rescind her comment that America is not racist, and acknowledge that one of the countries fundamental problems has been and still is its problem with racism. 2. She needs to rescind her statement that she would pardon Trump if she were elected president, which creates a double standard by placing this fascist dictator above the rule of law. She is a slick politician and I doubt if she would concede to changing her position on either issue. But she is a hundred times better than her opponent, who was the worst president in our nations entire history. It will be interesting to see where Trump actually does end up. Hopefully it will be in a Federal or Georgia State prison, and completely bankrupt!
she needs to stay just to keep the orange one mad. She could even be in place should something happen to the 77 yr old physically challenged and mentally challenged man.
Haley is an election denier and says she'd pardon DJT if he is convicted -ludicrous on both counts!
She does, though, get under DJT's skin and misogyny, which feeds into our national attention on the EJean Carrol case, MAGA's intention to control women's bodies and so on; this can lead us, potentially, to another 'Me Too' movement as we saw in 2016. Haley can help in this way to defeat DJT (he had a melt-down over her 'victory' speech -pathetic), but she'll never get the MAGA base in order to become POTUS. So yes, for the time being, she should stay. Great question -thanks!
Haley repeatedly brings up the border and immigration issue, there is a very strong bill negotiated by Republican Senators to address immigration and border security yet she is silent on this legislation and in fact abdicated this issue to trump. If she wants to shut down trump she needs to step up and give America her thoughts on this Senate Republican supported legislation, what does Nikki Haley like and dislike in this bill?
Of course the issue of pardoning Trump is of paramount importance, but I fail to see how it has anything to do with how long Haley stays in the race. She isn’t going to win the primary, and he isn’t going to win the general. I firmly believe that, in the long run, justice will prevail.
Thanks, Steven, for this thoughtful article. My sense is that she can't do any harm if she stays in the race but could do some good if she is inclined to attack Trump and thereby harm him somewhat in the general election. She seems to be entirely self serving so I doubt that she would put country over party in the way that Liz Cheney and Chris Christie have but perhaps she might see that she has nothing to lose at this point, and possibly something to gain by going at Trump.
"Is she capable of grasping that just moving on and not talking about him is not in the country’s best interest?"
This question is relevant both before and after the Republican Convention. But even more important is the question, to what extent is any leader or follower of the Republican party contemplating "the country’s best interest?" Compare Haley's tardy turn to anti-Trumpism with Liz Cheney's continuous drumbeat.
When will Johnson see the clear and present danger? When will the articulate, intelligent, deeply flawed Elise Stefanik waken from her fevered dreams of faux favoritism? How is it that the present toadies cannot hear the remorse of former cabinet members and other bootlicks? World history is littered with leaders who thought themselves above the fray, immune to the siren calls of power and influence, making early sacrifices confident that they'd soon return to "the country’s best interest". At best these people - including the honorable Gerald Ford - lived in the moment, divorced from context, just as "let's move on" ignores "the rule of law".
It is my sincerest wish that she remain in the race, spend as much money as her high-priced donors can stand, and be a constant irritation to the man who has annoyed America since the 1980s.
He gets so worked up about her still being there in the race. I see this raising his blood pressure, perhaps bringing on a heart attack or stroke, something fatal, so...
If Gov. Haley is truly making this run (as she says) for the nation, she should stay in the fight for as long as she can afford, and has the heart to do so. As she’s no doubt aware, it’s not so much about her winning as it is about him losing. If that’s the path she chooses, there should be no more pulling of punches.
She should stay because if Trump goes down because of a criminal conviction(s) or health reasons, she would be the last person standing, especially if she begins to use all of the fertile material that Trump continues to offer her to discredit him. As an optimist, I still feel Trump is in over his head and is not capable of realizing it. This latest move to openly prevent a coalition-based settlement of the border issue initiated by Trump and now not only by MAGAs but other "mainstream" Republicans, should (I hesitate to say will) be a severe blow to their general election hopes in November, on all levels, from national to local, because it shows Trump and his ilk as not interested in anything other than tearing everything down, including the economy. It is up to Biden and his campaign (whether the Dem base comes along or not) to make sure the independents (50% of the electorate) clearly understand what is happening and do whatever it takes to get the message out to them loud and clear. I feel this is beginning to happen, finally, because the message is getting clearer everyday because Trump is not a politician - he is an autocrat swathed in evangelicalism.
There is an important test of whether any Republicans are left in Congress who are willing and able to work to aid UK and Taiwan and at least to honestly attempt to solve the border crisis in a bipartisan fashion. It is a hopeless task to attempt to control him. Winning super-big in November is very possible and that political win would be important to demonstrate that he is wrong for the country! Simultaneously, court judgments of imprisonment (if any) should be allowed to go into effect regardless of his age or else the message will be lost!
The GOP is fearful of Hailey staying in the race. A “debate” would merely highlight TFG’s cognitive decline. Hence, Ronna’s recommendation to name TFG as the de facto candidate now. For that reason alone Hailey should stay in the race.
Do any of us know who Nikki Haley really is? She projects a kind of elegance and displays a lot of courage. But she lacks substance. She seems to say whatever the people in the room want to hear. Nevertheless, she's got to be better than Trump! Almost anybody is better than Trump! Therefore, she should stay in the upcoming primary races. If big mega-donors continue to fund her campaign, then she has nothing to lose. It's a free ride to increased national recognition for her.
Nixon was a very different person from trump. I believe he truly felt the disgrace of being caught. His face showed it when he waved his arms on the helicopter to say goodbye. He really did get Henry to kneel with him and pray. And Pat was surely mortified even though he was not always kind to her.What he did was disgraceful, dishonest, flouted the law, but after he was pardoned, he was pretty much forgotten (except it still keeps John Dean in business ).He never carried on like trump would do. I told once that as a realtor at the time, I had always to drive a Chinese client by his Saddle River,NJ home. He answered the door and gave out the treats on Halloween, could be seen at the local barbershop.I had copies of the listings of both the SR house and the Bears Nest townhouse in Park Ridge,NJ that he bought. Still do. My children asked me why I hadn't sold them to him. ; ) (They were little!) His funeral was well attended. When I read the book Ike and Dick, I found myself feeling sorry for Dick. At any rate, the country moved on; the one hurt the most(besides the country) was Ford and his chance to be elected President. So much for Nixon.
Leopards never change their spots. Jail, no jail, trump will to the day they bury him under a golf tee in NJ,remain a big mouth, disgraceful, bitter, jealous, self loving, revengeful body of tainted DNA chromosomes. Humans share 75% of genes with chickens. trump is 100 %. Soldiers may have been losers to him, but he was 100% chicken with his bone spurs and fake doctor report from a friend of his father. So far as I see it, only the latest judge has held him accountable and reprimanded him. He has gotten off for all his misdeeds with not even a hand slap. I think Haley should stay if only to annoy him to death ( wouldn't that be nice?). Every vote she gets might really help Biden. She won't win, but she may be setting herself up for the future. She is only 52.The future's not ours to see, que sera, sera.
Your question asked made me think of a song by The Clash:
Here’s my view on this. First, I am going to digress and cynically describe a book, that I am, at this time, writing in my mind. If this book, presently existed, no one would ever believe it could possibly be true, in a sane world. In my literary fantasy mind, this novel might have the sort of incredible appeal of a Joseph Heller “Catch 22”, because it would be filled with absurd caricature characters that represented some extreme neuroses, if not full blown psychoses, and the reader would not be able to turn their eyes from the narrative because they would recognize shades of these characters’ actions and attitudes in real life.
The title of the book might be called “Profiles in Cowardice”, and its cast of characters would be the following: Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Mitch McConnell, Lyndsey Graham, Ted Cruz, Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Green, Lauren Boebert, Josh Hawley, Mike Lee, Tom Cotton, Elise Stefanik, James Comer, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Joe Manchin, Chuck Grassley, John Cornim, Kristen Sinema, Rudy Giuliani, Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, Bill Barr, Nikki Haley and many more. Critics would label it “A Most Dystopian Novel.”
To the most important question, however, Michael, and possible readers, forgive me for my digression, “Should Nikki Haley stay in the race?” My view is yes, because, in a sane world, the full democratic process should play out. We are not yet in a full blown autocracy, and we must not let Donald Trump, Ronna McDaniel, and others declare it one, before it gets “democratically?”voted into one. There is some slim chance that Haley might get enough backing to keep Donald Trump from getting the nomination.
Would she make a good President? No! Not based on her choices of trying to please the racist, misogynistic, totally undemocratic, MAGA camp to date. Haley went to the same blind ambition school that Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett went to which could have the motto, “If you sell your soul to the devil, you’ll still make history”.
What I’m afraid we might see in the coming months, though, if Haley stays in, is her ambitiously but disingenuously, telling the truth about Trump. That might change some curiously “on the fence” voters’ minds about the current front runner in The GOP. However, if she would lose the nomination, because of the cast of characters mentioned above, and MAGA dark money, and then compound the dystopia more by being more “Mike Pence” than Mike Pence, and agree to be Trump’s running mate, it would be a possible fitting end to my “Profiles in Cowardice”.
She should stay in the race as long as possible simply to aggravate Trump.
From the moment Ford pardoned Nixon, I have felt it was a mistake.
Personally, I view Haley as a slick grifting hustler.
Anti-abortion
Distorts truths
Opportunistic
Low integrity
Ford’s pardoning Nixon was a massive mistake and a lot of us were enraged at the time. Nikki Haley is wrong. People who commit crimes must be held accountable no matter who they are.
I have no respect for her because she is dishonest, lacks integrity, and is a coward. That being said, she should keep running. trump receiving so few votes in the caucus and primary of two small states does not equate to a landslide of support.
She should stay, if only to exist as a stone in Donnie’s shoe an endless irritant to distract him and, perhaps, make him even more unhinged. Maybe if he gets really ugly (more so than already), it might turn off the less-rabid MAGA types.
Here's the thing: pardoning won't shut him up and won't stop him from causing mahem.
She should stay to bring out Trump’s flaws.
But, issue will be how long the Koch money is available to finance her.
I think it is obvious she should stay in the race. There is a good possibility:
• Trump has a conviction
• Trump has a health crisis
The same thing applies to the democratic side. It will not be Dean Phillips, but Gavin Newsome keeps his name in the news, just in case Biden’s health falters. Kamala Harris is not popular, she just doesn’t connect with enough of the electorate.
Biden 100% deserves re-election. The main risk to winning is his age resulting in a health crisis. If he is sound he will win.
Yes, she should stay and keep up with the temper tantrum and senior moment comments, at a minimum. I realize she probably won't ask questions about E. Jean, but at least she touched on it. I haven't seen anything about how Von Hilliard was pulled off of TFG pool coverage because he asked Elise stefanik about what she thought of the E. Jean defamation trial. Keep up the good work.
Stay. tRUmp might leave the party and, thus, split it, a la Teddy Roosvelt. Hopefully it would be the death of the party. (#TheRepublicanPartyMustDie [be disbanded])
I remember the Southern Project and, recently, I learned of the concurrent treason at the Paris Peace Talks. The party has gone downhill ever since. Newt Gingrich made excluding Democrats from power an explicit goal. SO, it's been a party of us-before-country for 56 (or more) years. That attracts con-men. Con-men attract the likes of Vladimir Putin. We see the result. It's not just tRUmp.
If Haley can get the party to split apart, it would be a huge success.
Nikki, for all her faults, MUST stay and pound Trump daily, get under his skin, twist the knife. It costs virtually nothing to do this. She can get an interview on any radio or TV show she wishes. This will drive him crazy, push him to even more unhinged behavior and make clearer -- every day -- his diminished mental health and unfittness for office.
@StevenBeschloss, I think you hit the nail on the head, as you usually do, with your comment, about Haley's idea of moving on and no longer talking about Trump, calling it, and I quote you: " a particularly grave error. Has not the Holocaust—has not American slavery and the Civil War—taught us that societies need to grapple openly and meaningfully with their deepest and darkest failures?" As you further elaborated, she has been walking this tightrope throughout her campaign. On one hand I think she is the best, now better since there are only 2, option for the GOP, not that I would vote for her because I don't want Conservatives to take more control of our government. However, I don't understand why she doesn't come out and take a real stand and really say that people who commit crimes should be punished and why should would hold Trump above the law. It would not divide out country more to have him punished. Though after Nixon resigned in disgraced to avoid impeachment, Ford later punished him to get the national nightmare over. It sends a very bad signal that no one will hold presidents who break the law accountable. That is not democracy. Those statements she makes are not going to get her into the VP stakes. She waffles too much and Trump demands total loyalty, to the point of groveling. Trump, the narcissist, would never think that Haley with her inroads into independent voters might help him win a general election. He is more interested, my opinion, in selecting a VP who has been TOTALLY LOYAL IN ALL RESPECTS. His ego tells him to take a like-minded person, such as Tim Scott, from a possibly important electoral college state (SC), or Elise Stefanik, from a state (NY) he is never likely to win but could possibly bring in some women voters. Of course, if Biden and Harris could do a better job of messaging and get the Roe v Wade issue back into the forefront, not on the basis of an abortion free for all, but on the factors that make it a necessary medical procedure often to save the life or health of the mother, especially when the fetus is not viable in vitro, or wouldn't survive long after birth, or be a totally damaged human, impossible to care for and putting a burden on parents and the government to support, with no quality of life, but just as a breathing entity. Back to the original question/issue posed, I think Haley's inability to take a firm stand for democracy and the Constitution, and not be afraid of offending Trump's cult base by saying he must be held accountable for his crimes, that doing so would not further divide the country, but rather, in time, would strengthen the Constitution and the values on which this country was founded, shows that she is not a strong leader. She is again caving to politics rather than leading. In my thinking, we need a person who is a strong leader, who is not afraid to make the difficult decisions, for the good of the country. We can't think how to get the GOP nomination and how to win the 2024 presidential election. We have to think long term.
Sorry Nikki, "an 80-year-old man sitting in jail" does not have a microphone... he would fade into oblivion. It's only his grandiosity that thinks his supporters would rise up. Now can we talk about jail, and ridding politics of all his enablers/abetters?
As much as I dislike Haley for many of the reasons mentioned in the article, pragmatically I'd like to see her stay in the race. She will serve a valuable purpose by continuing to attack Trump (hopefully harder and harder) in a widely viewed public forum. This will not only distract him, but it will also trigger outbursts of his pathological rage for all the voters to see. Trump has built his political career by attacking his opponents with exaggerated nonsense. It's time he received some of his own medicine, but with substance and truth behind it. Bring it, Nikki!
I think it’s cute that she thinks that the country would “stop talking about him” after a pardon, when we all know that he is never going to shut up until he’s either in jail or in the grave.
Not sure it matters. It’s only a matter of time before she will be kissing Trump’s ass (again).
Indeed. Wasn't the pardon's concept issued in fact to repair an error of justice ?
How can you then decide to pardon someone who has been seen to obviously breach the law when hundred of thousands are imprisoned sometimes for life for the same reason ?
When Nixon was pardoned, I was all of 30. I had voted for him in '68; and in '72. At that time, one had to be 21 years-old to vote, so Tricky Dick was the first president I was eligible to vote for. Yeah, I know. But, still, I did NOT like Humphrey.
However, I do recall believing that Gerald Ford had done the right in pardoning Nixon. My reason in that then 30-year-old mind was what a conviction might do to an already torn country. Fast forward to our current world. By comparison to Nixon, Trump is a criminal on steroids. Trump has committed so many crimes he likely holds the record on criminal acts by anyone person, president or otherwise. Trump belongs in prison; solitary. No phones, no mics, no TVs. Isolate him and allow him to wallow in his self-created hell and his miserable self-pity. Frankly, no amount or degree of suffering or punishment for Trump would be sufficient.
As to Haley, she is from South Carolina. That is enough for me. Her remark that the U.S. has never been racist left me stilled in my tracks. Even though I would not and will not vote for Haley, I'd rather see her at the Republican helm than the orange traitor. That would confirm for me that there is at least SOME stability within the Republican cabal. Trump is a threat to any civilized society, and his followers are equally depraved and intellectually deprived. Republicans need to be saved from themselves and our nation needs to be saved the from Republicans en masse.
I think she should stay in the race to aggravate Trump and to see how other states vote in their primaries…
The most useful thing that could happen with Nikki staying in the race would be an actual televised debate between her & Trump. I think she could easily eat his lunch & all the viewers would have the opportunity to see how stupid & deranged he is.
I hope she stays. If she leaves it will be so boring. If she stays, at least through Super Tuesday it might give some of the lost Magats a reason to question why they support Trump. She should force him to debate. Physically or virtually.
Yes - Haley should stay and for as long as she chooses and has the necessary support. Seeing her build courage to go after the violent, serial misogynist liable for sexual assault and rape, criminal, violent insurrectionist, treasonous, deeply disgraced, failed and one term ex president may help build it in others. Seeing the failed ex president become so much more 'unhinged' and threatening just towards Haley is needed for the GOP and, especially, independent voters nationally.
Haley also needs to press the demand that Trump debate her on live TV as his only other GOP competition and loudly propose he is a coward should he still refuse. Do this keeping in mind that the criminal, treasonous failed one term president has no impulse control. Draw him out even further.
That the national GOP and chief 'MAGA' parasite, Ronna McDaniel wanted to overtly deny the relevance of 48 of our 50 states and simply anoint the disgraced, failed ex president the GOP winner is pathetic. After her own sublime cowardice, Haley can atone (to a point, anyway) by defying, standing up to, and disrupting the 'MAGA Cult Train.' I hope she stays around regardless of the results in South Carolina.
In my younger years I often viewed the Republican Party as the adults in the room: a counter to the sometimes unrealistic idealism of Democrats. Those were the Dwight Eisenhower/Everett Dirksen/Richard Lugar Republicans who embraced internationalism, (although Dirksen was initially an isolationist before seeing the light) civil rights, and many other 'woke' concepts, but retained their conservative economic values. Even though I frequently disagreed with Republican positions, I often saw value and truth in some of their thoughts. I viewed the debate as healthy. Compromise was not a dirty word.
Newt Gingrich severely wounded that party by eschewing compromise and placing party loyalty above policy. Mitch McConnell, Mark Meadows, and many others dealt more blows, and Donald Trump added the personal loyalty aspect to an already, perhaps terminally, corrupted party.
At one time, I hoped Nikki Haley could be the kind of throwback Republican I had valued. I'm no longer optimistic about that.
She should, however, stay in, but only of she keeps up the reality check of what Donald Trump actually is and what he stands for.
My, perhaps delusional, hope is that somewhere deep inside the kernel of what the Republican Party once was remains. If she can reveal it, that would be a service to us all.
While both Trump and Haley are a danger to our country, Nikki should stay in the race. This would turn up the pressure on Trump, further split the party and waste conservative mega donor money. While a long shot to actually secure the nomination, Haley’s campaign would cause Trump to become even more unhinged. This may serve to finally cause persuadable voters to recognize his mental, emotional and spiritual unfitness. And her own cruel policy stances and calls to pardon an unrepentant serial criminal may alarm swing voters. All of the above would benefit Biden.
She should go.
She should stay until he is either convicted or implodes or explodes!!!!!!
I would like to see Nikki stay in for awhile, although I do not want her to be elected!
She flip flops on issues & showed her dark feelings about slavery etc.
But, she gets under Tyrumps skin, & I think that is helpful.
It would be terrible to pardon TYrump! It will embolden this behavior to occur again!
What seems to be happening, is most Democrats “play by the rules” most Republicans do not. And we see the Hypocrisy and foolishness of the Republican House almost daily.
I hope you don’t mind Sir, but I copied one of the great statements you just made and would like to share her:
“I would argue that it was exactly in the country’s interest to have held the disgraced Richard Nixon accountable. A corrupt figure like Trump may have been more convinced that criminal violations from the White House could lead to conviction and possibly jail, that presidents are not immune, that he cannot count on pardons to absolve him of his crimes. Nikki Haley taught that little boy in the library the wrong lesson. As Chris Christie put it, a pardon signals there are “two systems of justice.”
I agree
My heart breaks because TYrump & Republicans have endeavored to end our systems with mockery and disdain for greed and power.
I believe Nikki Haley will continue their goals to stay in power. I do not want her elected.
Thank you for all you do.
💙🇺🇸
Stay Nikki. Highlight the difference between the Trump cult and any normal Republicans. Reinforce the dangerous plans he has for his administration.
Stay in the race. Who knows. I remember a (true) quote from a state legislator that went: "When I started talking on this bill, I was for it; but the longer I've been talking, the more I'm against it." Lightning might strike twice.
sounds like an early 80's song by the Clash "Should I stay or should I go". I see no reason not to stay.
Yes, she should stay in. I totally disagree with her policies but she is an irritant to the Republicans and that’s a good thing.
I agree it was a mistake to pardon Nixon. The American voters who rejected President Ford’s re-election may have agreed too. To pardon a convicted former president would be a grave error. Whether to commute his jail sentence is a totally separate decision.
Nikki Haley could sharpen her criticism of DJT by altering her previous position. Instead of a pardon, commutation of a jail sentence might serve the nation’s interest, but only if the convicted former president expresses remorse for disgracing the presidency and the nation.
Didn’t the Republicans make the same argument twice when Trump was impeached? “He’s learned his lesson.” “We can move on now.” They said. We were all hoping that was true. Sad story is Trump won’t let us move on and never will. E Jean Carroll case for instance, he will not let her live in peace, he probably will be sued a third time for continuing his harassment. (Just a prediction). Trump will never let his base go, they will be a bane in society threatening those who openly oppose him until they forget about him which will probably be never. We are in this fight for Democracy for the long haul.
Nikki Haley needs to stay in the race by correcting two terribly flawed campaign statements. 1. She needs to rescind her comment that America is not racist, and acknowledge that one of the countries fundamental problems has been and still is its problem with racism. 2. She needs to rescind her statement that she would pardon Trump if she were elected president, which creates a double standard by placing this fascist dictator above the rule of law. She is a slick politician and I doubt if she would concede to changing her position on either issue. But she is a hundred times better than her opponent, who was the worst president in our nations entire history. It will be interesting to see where Trump actually does end up. Hopefully it will be in a Federal or Georgia State prison, and completely bankrupt!
she needs to stay just to keep the orange one mad. She could even be in place should something happen to the 77 yr old physically challenged and mentally challenged man.
Haley is an election denier and says she'd pardon DJT if he is convicted -ludicrous on both counts!
She does, though, get under DJT's skin and misogyny, which feeds into our national attention on the EJean Carrol case, MAGA's intention to control women's bodies and so on; this can lead us, potentially, to another 'Me Too' movement as we saw in 2016. Haley can help in this way to defeat DJT (he had a melt-down over her 'victory' speech -pathetic), but she'll never get the MAGA base in order to become POTUS. So yes, for the time being, she should stay. Great question -thanks!
Haley repeatedly brings up the border and immigration issue, there is a very strong bill negotiated by Republican Senators to address immigration and border security yet she is silent on this legislation and in fact abdicated this issue to trump. If she wants to shut down trump she needs to step up and give America her thoughts on this Senate Republican supported legislation, what does Nikki Haley like and dislike in this bill?
Of course the issue of pardoning Trump is of paramount importance, but I fail to see how it has anything to do with how long Haley stays in the race. She isn’t going to win the primary, and he isn’t going to win the general. I firmly believe that, in the long run, justice will prevail.
Thanks, Steven, for this thoughtful article. My sense is that she can't do any harm if she stays in the race but could do some good if she is inclined to attack Trump and thereby harm him somewhat in the general election. She seems to be entirely self serving so I doubt that she would put country over party in the way that Liz Cheney and Chris Christie have but perhaps she might see that she has nothing to lose at this point, and possibly something to gain by going at Trump.
"Is she capable of grasping that just moving on and not talking about him is not in the country’s best interest?"
This question is relevant both before and after the Republican Convention. But even more important is the question, to what extent is any leader or follower of the Republican party contemplating "the country’s best interest?" Compare Haley's tardy turn to anti-Trumpism with Liz Cheney's continuous drumbeat.
When will Johnson see the clear and present danger? When will the articulate, intelligent, deeply flawed Elise Stefanik waken from her fevered dreams of faux favoritism? How is it that the present toadies cannot hear the remorse of former cabinet members and other bootlicks? World history is littered with leaders who thought themselves above the fray, immune to the siren calls of power and influence, making early sacrifices confident that they'd soon return to "the country’s best interest". At best these people - including the honorable Gerald Ford - lived in the moment, divorced from context, just as "let's move on" ignores "the rule of law".
She should stay in the race. Trump becoming more unhinged is an understatement. Let him implode and expend all his energy on the primaries.
It is my sincerest wish that she remain in the race, spend as much money as her high-priced donors can stand, and be a constant irritation to the man who has annoyed America since the 1980s.
He gets so worked up about her still being there in the race. I see this raising his blood pressure, perhaps bringing on a heart attack or stroke, something fatal, so...
If Gov. Haley is truly making this run (as she says) for the nation, she should stay in the fight for as long as she can afford, and has the heart to do so. As she’s no doubt aware, it’s not so much about her winning as it is about him losing. If that’s the path she chooses, there should be no more pulling of punches.
She should stay because if Trump goes down because of a criminal conviction(s) or health reasons, she would be the last person standing, especially if she begins to use all of the fertile material that Trump continues to offer her to discredit him. As an optimist, I still feel Trump is in over his head and is not capable of realizing it. This latest move to openly prevent a coalition-based settlement of the border issue initiated by Trump and now not only by MAGAs but other "mainstream" Republicans, should (I hesitate to say will) be a severe blow to their general election hopes in November, on all levels, from national to local, because it shows Trump and his ilk as not interested in anything other than tearing everything down, including the economy. It is up to Biden and his campaign (whether the Dem base comes along or not) to make sure the independents (50% of the electorate) clearly understand what is happening and do whatever it takes to get the message out to them loud and clear. I feel this is beginning to happen, finally, because the message is getting clearer everyday because Trump is not a politician - he is an autocrat swathed in evangelicalism.
There is an important test of whether any Republicans are left in Congress who are willing and able to work to aid UK and Taiwan and at least to honestly attempt to solve the border crisis in a bipartisan fashion. It is a hopeless task to attempt to control him. Winning super-big in November is very possible and that political win would be important to demonstrate that he is wrong for the country! Simultaneously, court judgments of imprisonment (if any) should be allowed to go into effect regardless of his age or else the message will be lost!
The GOP is fearful of Hailey staying in the race. A “debate” would merely highlight TFG’s cognitive decline. Hence, Ronna’s recommendation to name TFG as the de facto candidate now. For that reason alone Hailey should stay in the race.
Do any of us know who Nikki Haley really is? She projects a kind of elegance and displays a lot of courage. But she lacks substance. She seems to say whatever the people in the room want to hear. Nevertheless, she's got to be better than Trump! Almost anybody is better than Trump! Therefore, she should stay in the upcoming primary races. If big mega-donors continue to fund her campaign, then she has nothing to lose. It's a free ride to increased national recognition for her.
Nixon was a very different person from trump. I believe he truly felt the disgrace of being caught. His face showed it when he waved his arms on the helicopter to say goodbye. He really did get Henry to kneel with him and pray. And Pat was surely mortified even though he was not always kind to her.What he did was disgraceful, dishonest, flouted the law, but after he was pardoned, he was pretty much forgotten (except it still keeps John Dean in business ).He never carried on like trump would do. I told once that as a realtor at the time, I had always to drive a Chinese client by his Saddle River,NJ home. He answered the door and gave out the treats on Halloween, could be seen at the local barbershop.I had copies of the listings of both the SR house and the Bears Nest townhouse in Park Ridge,NJ that he bought. Still do. My children asked me why I hadn't sold them to him. ; ) (They were little!) His funeral was well attended. When I read the book Ike and Dick, I found myself feeling sorry for Dick. At any rate, the country moved on; the one hurt the most(besides the country) was Ford and his chance to be elected President. So much for Nixon.
Leopards never change their spots. Jail, no jail, trump will to the day they bury him under a golf tee in NJ,remain a big mouth, disgraceful, bitter, jealous, self loving, revengeful body of tainted DNA chromosomes. Humans share 75% of genes with chickens. trump is 100 %. Soldiers may have been losers to him, but he was 100% chicken with his bone spurs and fake doctor report from a friend of his father. So far as I see it, only the latest judge has held him accountable and reprimanded him. He has gotten off for all his misdeeds with not even a hand slap. I think Haley should stay if only to annoy him to death ( wouldn't that be nice?). Every vote she gets might really help Biden. She won't win, but she may be setting herself up for the future. She is only 52.The future's not ours to see, que sera, sera.
Your question asked made me think of a song by The Clash:
Should I stay, or should I go now?
Should I stay, or should I go now?
If I go, there will be trouble
And if I stay, it will be double
So come on and let me know,
Should I stay, or should I go?
qui sait
Here’s my view on this. First, I am going to digress and cynically describe a book, that I am, at this time, writing in my mind. If this book, presently existed, no one would ever believe it could possibly be true, in a sane world. In my literary fantasy mind, this novel might have the sort of incredible appeal of a Joseph Heller “Catch 22”, because it would be filled with absurd caricature characters that represented some extreme neuroses, if not full blown psychoses, and the reader would not be able to turn their eyes from the narrative because they would recognize shades of these characters’ actions and attitudes in real life.
The title of the book might be called “Profiles in Cowardice”, and its cast of characters would be the following: Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Mitch McConnell, Lyndsey Graham, Ted Cruz, Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Green, Lauren Boebert, Josh Hawley, Mike Lee, Tom Cotton, Elise Stefanik, James Comer, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Joe Manchin, Chuck Grassley, John Cornim, Kristen Sinema, Rudy Giuliani, Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, Bill Barr, Nikki Haley and many more. Critics would label it “A Most Dystopian Novel.”
To the most important question, however, Michael, and possible readers, forgive me for my digression, “Should Nikki Haley stay in the race?” My view is yes, because, in a sane world, the full democratic process should play out. We are not yet in a full blown autocracy, and we must not let Donald Trump, Ronna McDaniel, and others declare it one, before it gets “democratically?”voted into one. There is some slim chance that Haley might get enough backing to keep Donald Trump from getting the nomination.
Would she make a good President? No! Not based on her choices of trying to please the racist, misogynistic, totally undemocratic, MAGA camp to date. Haley went to the same blind ambition school that Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett went to which could have the motto, “If you sell your soul to the devil, you’ll still make history”.
What I’m afraid we might see in the coming months, though, if Haley stays in, is her ambitiously but disingenuously, telling the truth about Trump. That might change some curiously “on the fence” voters’ minds about the current front runner in The GOP. However, if she would lose the nomination, because of the cast of characters mentioned above, and MAGA dark money, and then compound the dystopia more by being more “Mike Pence” than Mike Pence, and agree to be Trump’s running mate, it would be a possible fitting end to my “Profiles in Cowardice”.