Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said on Sunday that President Joe Biden has “failed” to adequately communicate with the American people about the dangers posed to the United States by foreign adversaries.
When ABC’s Jonathan Karl asked Haley on “This Week” to comment on the struggle to get billions of dollars in supplemental aid for Ukraine and Israel passed through Congress, she said “first we have to talk about” what Biden is doing as commander in chief.
“The reason you’re seeing America become more isolationist is at no point has Joe Biden had a conversation with the American people about why Ukraine is important,” Haley said. “At no point has he had a conversation with the American people about the terrorist activity that’s happening with Israel and why Iran is so dangerous. At no point is he talking about the threats of China.”
She added, “And when you don’t talk about those things with the American people, they’re going to distance themselves from it. And so, Joe Biden has failed on that front. That has emboldened our enemies. That’s why you see them moving. It happened after the fall of Afghanistan. It is continuing to happen.”
“Congress is failing because they are making this sound like you have to choose between Ukraine and Israel or securing the border. They are lying to the American people. That’s a false premise. We can do both,” Nikki Haley tells @JonKarl. https://t.co/MXVcL7y8wc pic.twitter.com/ZRADuGcp9v
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) February 18, 2024
Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, gained foreign policy experience serving as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration. She is now running for the GOP nomination against former President Donald Trump while Biden seeks re-election.
While Haley took the opportunity to knock Trump for his recent anecdote about using hardball tactics to negotiate with NATO allies, she brought the conversation back to Congress, saying the U.S. needs to give Ukraine what its forces need to win against a Russian invasion “so that we can prevent sending any of our military men and women to fight.”
Pressed on what Biden should be doing, with Karl noting that Biden has made trips and statements in support of Ukraine, Haley suggested that Biden work on improving his messaging on why providing aid to allies is linked to national security at home.
“Joe Biden needs to be speaking more to the American people about what this package means and why it affects the American people and why it protects them from further war,” she said.
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Haley also posted that some blame rests with Congress, alluding to a disagreement between lawmakers over linking border security reforms with foreign aid.
“Congress needs to do their job and make sure that they go and do everything they can for national security,” Haley said. “Congress is failing because they are making this sound like you have to choose between Ukraine and Israel or securing the border.”
She added, “They are lying to the American people. That’s a false premise. We can do both. Securing our southern border is priority number one, but making sure that we help Ukraine and Israel is also about preventing war.”