Nikki Haley says she has many things to worry about if Trump is re-elected.
Washington:
Indian-American Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said that if elected, her administration would strengthen alliances not only with NATO but also with other countries such as India, Australia, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.
Haley, the 52-year-old former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said threats to the NATO alliance if former U.S. President Donald Trump is re-elected is one of the things she worries about.
“I’m worried about a lot of things if Trump is re-elected. This is one of them,” she told ABC News, adding that NATO is a 75-year-old success story.
Haley is the only candidate running against Trump in the Republican presidential nomination race in 2024.
Haley is a two-term former governor from South Carolina, where Russia has never invaded a NATO country because it is generally so afraid of the alliance.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an intergovernmental military alliance composed of 31 member countries, including 29 European countries and 2 North American countries.
Even China is intimidated by this alliance. Therefore, it is important to keep NATO strong, Haley said.
Haley was responding to a question about Trump’s remarks a week ago in South Carolina that he would encourage Russia to “do whatever it wants” to any NATO member that does not meet defense spending guidelines.
Adding more friends is important. Now is not the time to leave the league. Haley said now is not the time to side with rioters rather than with friends who stood with the United States after the Sept. 11 attacks.
“We have to make sure we stand strong. Because when we stand strong with our friends, our enemies will follow. When we start to weaken those alliances, our enemies will move. That’s why we’re seeing China is advancing. That’s why we see Iran wanting to build a nuclear bomb. That’s why we see Russia starting to advance toward Poland and the Baltic states,” she said.
“That’s what I’ve committed to do as president, we’re not only going to strengthen NATO, we’re going to strengthen our alliances with India, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines. We’re going to increase that reach. It’s about America having more friends , not fewer friends,” Haley said in response to a question.
Haley called Trump’s NATO comments “chilling” and empowering Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“What he was doing in that moment was he was siding with a man who was killing a political opponent, he was siding with a thug who was arresting American journalists and holding them hostage,” she said.
Haley claimed that current President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has also failed on multiple fronts.
“It’s emboldening our enemies. That’s why you see them moving. This happened after the fall of Afghanistan. It continues to happen. And then they go and see another opponent running for president, and they see him There’s no fear of Putin invading Ukraine. So, what does Putin do? He’s gone and now he’s starting to deploy soldiers around the Baltics. He’s moving into the next era,” she said.
“Let us remind the American people that Putin said that once he takes Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic states will be next. Now he is deploying soldiers to those countries, just like he did with Ukraine. If that happens, those countries are NATO countries. This immediately puts the United States into war. That’s what we’re trying to avoid. That’s why this aid package is so important,” she said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
