‘Normal again.’ Nikki Haley on why she’s a better choice than Trump in NC’s GOP primary

Days before Super Tuesday, presidential candidate Nikki Haley made her case in Raleigh on Saturday about why she’s the best Republican primary candidate for America to be “normal again” and why her opponent, former President Donald Trump, will mean that Republicans lose to Democratic President Joe Biden in the general election this fall.

Before a crowded Union Hall at Union Station in downtown Raleigh, Haley said Trump spends most of his time “on a rant about being a victim” and “at no point is he talking about the American people.” She told supporters that all Trump “talks about his himself,” ignoring what American people need and want.

She took aim at Trump on the U.S.-Mexico border, him wanting to put his daughter-in-law Lara Trump in RNC leadership, saying Trump wants to make the RNC “his legal slush fund.” Trump faces a slew of criminal charges for his failed attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Trump was also in North Carolina on Saturday for a rally in Greensboro and leads in primary elections so far. Haley is the last candidate standing against him in the primary.

Haley told reporters after her event Saturday that she was “super excited” to get the endorsements of Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

“They are two strong, very courageous women who really do want to see what I want to see, which is getting our country to move in a great direction,” Haley said.

She said her candidacy is “not an anti-Trump movement, this is a pro-American movement,” and that Trump is why Republicans keep losing.

‘Normal again’ for America

“There’s a lot of us that want normal again. But we have to go and do something about it,” Haley said, encouraging people to vote in the North Carolina primary on March 5. After her speech ended, she took photos and signed posters with hundreds of supporters at Union Station.

Haley also talked about a variety of policy issues, including wanting tax cuts for the middle class and spreading the blame for the cost of living not just to Biden, but also to Trump.

“You look at what’s happening, no one is talking about the debt. No one’s talking about how tough things are out there. You feel it — your paycheck doesn’t go as far, your grocery bill is a whole lot higher. So are your utility bills. And I would love to tell you that Joe Biden did that job. And he sent us down this roller coaster of socialism, that’s dangerous. But I have always spoken in hard truths. And I’m going to do that with you today.

“Donald Trump and Republicans did that to us, too,” she told the crowd.

Haley criticized Trump for not wanting to solve the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. She talked about what she liked and didn’t like about Congress’ bill addressing the border.

“What bothers me is, what normally should have happened was Congress would have gotten in a room and debated until they strengthened it to get it out. But instead what happens, Donald Trump told Congress not to do anything until after the general election because it would hurt him. We can’t wait one more day to pass a strong border bill,” Haley said.

Haley’s pitch for ‘new generational leader’

Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, is 52, and would be the nation’s first president from Generation X. The last younger president, Barack Obama, was 47 when he first took office. Biden is 81 and Trump is 77.

“Don’t you think we need to have mental competency tests for anyone over the age of 75? Now I want to be clear. I’m not being disrespectful when I say that. We all know people over 75 that can run circles around us. And then we know Joe Biden. Congress has become the most privileged nursing home in the country,” she said.

She asked North Carolina primary voters to pick her on Tuesday.

“Now is the time. We need a new generational leader that can put in eight years, day and night, fixing the things we need to fix with no negativity, no drama, no vendettas — just real results for the American people,” Haley said.

She also made her pitch to the next generation.

If you look at the younger generation, look at what they’ve been through, Haley said.

“They went through COVID, which was traumatic. Then they go and they see this $34 trillion in (national) debt they know they’re gonna end up being responsible for. They worry about getting a job. They worry about making ends meet. They don’t know that they’re ever going to be able to afford a home, and they feel these wars around the world, and all of that is under this umbrella of America that’s full of anger and division. And then we want to know why there’s so much stress, anxiety and depression? Our kids deserve to know what normal feels like,” she said.

College student Margaret Hope Scott was at not just her first Haley event, but her first time volunteering for any political event. Scott was passing out Haley merchandise as people came into the building.

“The direction that (Haley) would like to head with this country, I’m a huge fan of it. I think it’s definitely something we need, especially as a younger generation, she’s really got the embodiment of the American values back where it needs to be,” Scott said.

Scott said she applauds Haley for staying in the race, even though Trump has won primary elections in other states.

“I think it’s really inspiring, everything that she does,” Scott said about Haley.

Haley is ‘what we need’

Haley supporter Tina Rivenbark of Wilmington was volunteering for the third time for the Haley campaign, she said, including two events in Wilmington.

“I think she’s smart. I think she makes sense. I think she is graceful, intelligent and strong,” Rivenbark said about why she supports Haley. “And I think that’s what we need. I don’t think we need to just burn every conversation down every time something comes up,” she said.

Haley said that “right now the people of North Carolina have a decision to make. Do you want more of the same, or do you want to go in a new direction?”

After her rally, Haley told reporters that the “biggest concern” is people who don’t like Trump will just sit out voting in the general election, leading to a Biden win. She said her supporters “want to be part of something positive. They want to be a part of something good.”