WASHINGTON – The public split between the White House and UN AmbassadorNikki Haley this week over Russia sanctions threw a spotlight on herat-times uneasy relationship with President Donald Trump, even as her deftrebuttal bolstered talk about her own future political fortunes.
Haley’s rejoinder to a putdown from a close Trump adviser about messageconfusion – she declared that “I don’t get confused” – was seized as arallying cry among some women and echoed the audacity the former governordisplayed while upending the old boys’ club in the South Carolinastatehouse. But the episode also called into question her standing onTrump’s national security team ahead of tough decisions on North Korea,Iran and other fronts.
“What distinguishes her from the star-struck sycophants in the White Houseis that she understands the intersection of strong leadership and publicservice, where great things happen,” said Rob Godfrey, a spokesman forHaley when she was governor.
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Haley, now considered to be on the shortlist of future presidentialcandidates, has consistently taken a harder line than Trump on Russia.While that has, at times, drawn Trump’s ire, her hawkishness on otheroccasions has been appreciated by the president, who has allowed her toreprimand Moscow while he works toward a friendship with Russian PresidentVladimir Putin.
That dynamic broke down this week. Trump was angry Sunday when he saw Haleyon television discussing new Russia sanctions that she said would beannounced the next day. He blasted her for being out of step with the restof the administration, according to two White House officials. They werenot authorized to discuss private conversations and commented only oncondition of anonymity.
Despite Haley’s words, no new sanctions were imposed.
Asked for an explanation, Larry Kudlow, the president’s new economicadviser, told reporters that Haley “got ahead of the curve” and he added,“She’s a very effective ambassador, but there might have been somemomentary confusion about that.”
The next day, Haley hit back, releasing a statement to Fox News that read:“With all due respect, I don’t get confused.”
Kudlow apologized but Haley’s differences with the White House had alreadypushed into the open.
At the United Nations, responding to a shouted question about herrelationship with the president, she simply said, “It’s perfect.” But theWhite House was left scrambling to explain.
Haley’s allies insist she always consults with the West Wing, and sometimesthe president personally, before speaking publicly. White House officialssaid the plan about the sanctions changed after she was briefed and shewasn’t told before she went on television. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchinfurther muddled the narrative Thursday when he told Fox Business Networkthat the administration “refined the strategy after Nikki made thatannouncement.”
He said, “She wasn’t left twisting in the wind, this was a fluid situation,the decision changed.”
Haley’s pushback struck a chord, becoming something of an instant feministmotto in the way it rebelled against what some saw as a patronizing commentfrom a powerful man. The words carried additional resonance consideringHaley’s place as one of the few prominent women in Trump’s inner circle.Her comment was compared in some quarters to the way Sen. Elizabeth Warrenhad appropriated “Nevertheless, she persisted” as a rallying cry after theremark was delivered by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after hetried to silence Warren on the Senate floor last year.
“I feel sorry for Nikki Haley,” said former Secretary of State MadelineAlbright. “She has been very tough up there making points. She makes veryclear that she’s representing the president. And all of a sudden she’s putinto this ridiculous situation of looking as though she is out there byherself on something.”
Trump has vented to confidants about the media attention the dustup hasreceived, but he hasn’t given any signal that he wants to dismiss hisambassador, according to White House officials and outside advisers. Herfooting on Trump’s revamped national security team remains unclear: She istight with Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State nominee MikePompeo, but lost an ally when H.R. McMaster was replaced by John Bolton asnational security adviser.
All the attention has restarted some wary West Wing whispers about Haley’sultimate goals.
Her rebuttal stood in stark contrast to the conduct of Attorney GeneralJeff Sessions and former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who largelyremained silent when they were undermined by Trump. She did not supportTrump in her state’s primary election, was viewed by many as gunning forTillerson’s job last fall, and has been floated by some Republicans as apossible running mate for Pence if he makes his own White House run.
One West Wing aide joked recently that the only question was if Haley’sname would appear on a ballot in 2020 or 2024.
And on Tuesday, her office mistakenly blasted an email containing a seriesof press clippings that mention Haley _ a message meant for the ambassadorherself _ to a number of journalists. Among the headlines highlighted, onecited MSNBC “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough and read, “Scarborough:Nikki Haley would beat Donald Trump if she ran in 2020 GOP primary.”
“She has an incredibly bright future and will be a major player for theRepublican party in the years ahead,” said Newt Gingrich, former Housespeaker and informal Trump ally. “I think she’s a future secretary of stateand vice president. And remember: this president learns a lot fromtelevision. She is a remarkably effective presence for the United States ofAmerica on television and the president likes that.”
Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, grew up enduring racist tauntsduring her childhood in a small South Carolina town. She is accustomed todefying political expectations.
In her first campaign in 2004, she defeated the longest-serving member ofSouth Carolina’s House. One of only a handful of women in the Legislature,she showed the tough political skin she said was needed to make politicalprogress.
“I don’t know how to be intimidated,” she declared.
She faced her biggest challenge in 2015, when a self-avowed whitesupremacist gunned down nine black worshippers in a Charleston church.Haley sat front-and-center for weeks at the funerals and later backedremoving the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Statehouse grounds,where it had flown for more than 50 years.
Says former spokesman Godfrey: “She’s not afraid to stand up to people whoare bullies, whether it’s a thug dictator on the next continent, or it’s athug state senator in the next county.” – Agencies