Nikki Haley announces presidential campaign, strikes optimistic tone in launch video

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) early on Tuesday officially announced her presidential campaign.

"Get excited! Time for a new generation," Haley wrote on Twitter. "Let’s do this!"

"I was the proud daughter of Indian immigrants — not Black, not white. I was different," the former United Nations ambassador says in a video announcing the launch of her campaign, striking an optimistic tone.

"My mom would always say your job is not to focus on the differences but the similarities. My parents reminded me and my siblings every day how blessed we were to live in America," Haley says.

"Some look at our past as evidence that America's founding principles are bad. They say the promise of freedom is just made up. Some think our ideas are not just wrong, but racist and evil. Nothing could be further from the truth."

Haley becomes the first Republican candidate to challenge former President Trump, who announced his 2024 campaign last November.

Haley’s entrance into the race has been expected for months. While she said nearly two years ago that she would not challenge Trump for the 2024 nod if he decided to mount another bid for the White House, that didn't stop her from laying the groundwork for a campaign. 

After leaving the Trump administration, she founded her own outside group, “Stand for America,” to boost GOP candidates ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. She’s also stayed active on the national media circuit. 

In an interview with Fox News in January, she signaled that she was still weighing a White House bid, saying that the country needed a new generation to step up in 2024 and offering herself as potential leader. 

"It's bigger than one person. And when you're looking at the future of America, I think it's time for new generational change. I don't think you need to be 80 years old to go be a leader in D.C.," Haley told the network. "I think we need a young generation to come in, step up, and really start fixing things.”

Her announcement was also expected by Trump, who disclosed in late January that he had spoken to Haley about a White House bid and said he encouraged her to do so. 

But Haley’s campaign launch also puts her in direct contention with Trump, who appointed her as his envoy to the U.N. just after taking office in 2017. The former president is running to reclaim the White House in 2024, and has made clear that he believes he is the GOP’s rightful nominee, even as other Republicans consider their own bids.

For now, it’s unclear where Haley stands in the GOP field. Early polling suggests that Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has not yet announced a campaign, are the top two Republican favorites to win the presidential nod. 

At the same time, Haley irked many Republicans two years ago when she appeared to criticize Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Still, Haley has a winning track record to fall back on; she’s never lost a race for public office in her political career.

--Developing