Nikki Haley has asked for Secret Service protection. She said that as the last opponent running against Donald Trump in the Republican primary, she is receiving an increase in threats.
“We’ve had multiple issues,” the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador said after a campaign event here. “It’s not going to stop me from doing what I need to do.”
She submitted a request to federal officials. Her campaign is pondering how more intense security would affect her campaign schedule and travels. It will be interesting to see if DHS, the agency charged with granting such requests, grants Haley’s request. DHS has denied Secret Security protection to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. every time he has asked. He has made several requests and he keeps getting turned down. With his family’s history of political assassinations, Secret Security protection for him during the primary season should be a no-brainer.
Haley is a realist and knows that personal threats can happen when a person runs for political office, especially at the top level of politics. She has a private security detail that tackled someone who tried to get on the stage with her last week during an event in Columbia, South Carolina. Pro-Hamas protesters show up at her campaign events, as they do with Joe Biden.
Her home in South Carolina was swatted for the second time in January. She was not home but her elderly parents were there with their caregiver. Haley and her husband moved her parents into their home to take care of them. The swatter told police that a woman killed her daughter and was threatening to kill herself at that house.
Haley’s request for Secret Service protection is seen as a sign that she plans to stay in the primary race for the long haul. She has a full campaign schedule and is working to make a decent showing in the primary in her home state. Her campaign said it raised $16M in January, her best month yet. She has her sights set on Super Tuesday in March. Haley plans to go to California on Wednesday.
Nikki trails Trump by more than 20 points in South Carolina. The expectations are that Trump will trounce her because, as some people in the know say, Haley is well-liked in South Carolina but Donald Trump is loved there. Nonetheless, she promised to “touch every hand” and “answer every question” as she campaigns.
The promise to answer every question is interesting. She was gaining a reputation on the campaign trail as someone who did the events and then left without answering questions from voters. Maybe she heard the criticism.
Her work in the United Nations during the Trump years may be a part of the threats. People have lost their minds these days. With all the pro-Hamas sentiments from the crazy left, who knows what may happen?
Just as I do about RFK, Jr.’s request, I hope Nikki Haley gets her request approved. Sadly, DHS Secretary Mayorkas is the one making the decision and we know he’s only interested in the personal safety of the illegal immigrants crossing the southern border.