Nikki Haley to Resign as Trump’s Ambassador to the U.N.

USA World

Nikki Haley to Resign as Trump’s Ambassador to the U.N.

But she has been overshadowed in recent months by the appointments of Trump loyalist Mike Pompeo as secretary of state and hawk John Bolton as White House national security adviser.

Pompeo has led policy on talks with North Korea, while Bolton has taken the lead on trying to implement Trump’s hard line against Iran.

DOMESTIC CREDENTIALS
A convert to Christianity in her 20s after being raised a Sikh, Haley is popular with religious conservatives in the South.

Her status as a potential candidate for national high office was boosted in 2015 when she ordered the Confederate battle flag to be pulled down at South Carolina’s state capitol grounds after a white supremacist gunman shot dead nine black worshipers at a church in Charleston.

Haley has also applauded women who come forward to denounce sexual abuse or misconduct by men and said they should be heard, even if they are accusing Trump.

“Women who accuse anyone should be heard,” Haley said last December after accusations against three members of Congress. “They should be heard, and they should be dealt with.”

Referring to women whose accusations brought down powerful men, like movie producer Harvey Weinstein, Haley said: “I’m proud of their strength. I’m proud of their courage.”

Haley has long taken a tougher public stance on Russia than Trump, who has sought better relations with President Vladimir Putin.

Haley raised eyebrows within the administration when she announced in April that Washington was going to impose sanctions on Moscow over its support of Syria’s government. Trump then decided not to go ahead with the move.

Haley fought against what she called anti-Israel bias at the United Nations, and sometimes seemed to be channeling Trump’s abrasive style of diplomacy.

Last year, she upset U.S. allies and foes alike by warning that the United States would be “taking names” of countries that backed a U.N. resolution criticizing Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Echoing previous statements from Trump, Haley said on Tuesday that the United States under his presidency is now respected around the world.

“Now the United States is respected. Countries may not like what we do, but they respect what we do. They know that if we say we’re going to do something, we follow it through,” she said.