Haley, Noem differ from the approach to Trump when 2024 Jockeying begins

Although the two women have similarities in their political biographies — both were the first women rulers of their states after serving in state legislatures — how they have interacted with Mr. Trump and their legacy is shaping their first positioning in the future presidential camp.

Ms. Haley, a South Carolina South who criticized Trump before becoming his two-year UN ambassador, has at times distanced himself from the former president, essentially continuing with the approach he went adopt when you disagreed with him while he was in his administration. .

Noem, the first governor of South Dakota, has been closely associated with Mr. Trump. He was scheduled to appear on his Palm Beach, Florida appeal on Friday for a fundraiser that would benefit his 2022 re-election campaign. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is hosting the $ 1,000-per-person cocktail at Mar-a-Lago, along with his girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle.

As president, Trump visited Mount Rushmore in South Dakota before Independence Day last summer and appeared with Ms. Noem. As part of the visit, he presented him with a bronze miniature of the monument depicting him alongside former presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

Ms. Noem, who represented her state in Congress for eight years before becoming governor, has also received political advice from an adviser to the former president. Corey Lewandowski, who managed part of Trump’s first presidential campaign, accompanied Ms. Noem in early January to a Republican National Committee meeting in Florida.

Ms. Haley also attended the RNC meeting just after the January 6 Capitol riot by a pro-Trump crowd. He made significantly bigger waves there, using his speech both to praise Trump’s successes and to criticize his behavior after the November election loss, when he repeatedly claimed he had defeated President Biden.

“His actions from election day will be judged harshly by history,” he told RNC members. “It’s deeply disappointing.”

In a recent interview with Politico, he gave Mr. Trump an even bigger turn. “I don’t think he appears in the picture,” Ms. Haley said of her future role in the party. “I do not think he can. It has fallen so far. “

Gail Gitcho, a GOP strategist and former communications director for the Association of Republican Governors, said Ms. Haley’s work during the Trump administration made her “a little-loved conservative” across the country.

“However, since Trump’s defeat, he has been critical of him, so he clearly sees a different path than many other candidates,” he said. “Governor Noem seems to be taking a more conventional path, recognizing Trump’s continued popularity among Republican primary voters.”

More women could emerge as candidates for the GOP presidency by 2024, as the camp is likely to be put into a more intense focus after next year’s midterm elections.

During an appearance at the Florida Conservative Political Action Conference last weekend, Ms. Noem mentioned the former president during the first 90 seconds of his speech. In his comments, he showed his virtually practical approach to the coronavirus pandemic, a style of government that has delighted some conservatives.

“Covid did not crush the economy. The government crushed the economy, “he said.” I don’t think governors have the authority to tell you that your business is not essential. “

Mrs. Noem has also fought against the mandates of the masks and encouraged a large concentration of motorcycles in his state last August that attracted hundreds of thousands of people, prompting complaints from some who had helped spread the virus at national.

While national public health figures have been critical of Ms. Noem’s approach and have pointed to her state’s high per capita infection rate, the pandemic has helped elevate the governor among conservatives at one point. in which Mrs. Haley does not hold office.

Noem finished second in a 2024 CPAC poll of presidential candidates, behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, when Trump was not included in the mix. She received 11% support from attendees, while Ms. Haley received 3% support.

Trump mocked during his own appearance with the CPAC that he could run for president for the third time, a possibility that could freeze the field of potential candidates.

Mrs. Haley was invited to speak at the Conservative meeting, but an aide said she had a prior obligation. He turned down an interview request.

Ian Fury, a spokeswoman for Mrs Noem, said in an emailed statement in response to a request for an interview that he had no ambitions for the oval office. “As Governor Noem has said many times, she has no interest in running for the presidency,” he said. “She hopes the people of South Dakota will trust her to serve as governor for another four years.”

Ms. Haley already has many short lists of GOP as a potential national candidate, in part because her biography as a daughter of Indian immigrants could provide a compelling account for a Republican party often labeled by critics as anti-immigrant under the Mr. Trump.

So far, Ms. Haley has been able to stay above the Republican Party’s struggles in Washington because, unlike about half of the approximately 20 people on unofficial lists of potential candidates for the Republican Party. 2024, is not in the United States Senate. This also means that he has rarely faced difficult questions from journalists in recent months and has not had to vote on divisive issues such as dismissal.

His Twitter feed includes almost daily criticism of President Biden, as well as popular topics on the Republican Party’s conservative base. Ms. Haley is also building the kind of political organization that potential presidential candidates create before announcing their intentions.

Ms. Haley recently hired the former political director of the Republican National Senate Committee to lead her new Stand for America political action committee, an entity that will allow her to examine medium-term races, expand her donor network, and make friends. politicians across the country. He also leads a nonprofit organization of the same name that focuses on conservative politics.

In addition to her political and political work, Ms. Haley makes oral appearances for companies and other clients who can pay up to $ 200,000 each.

Write to John McCormick at [email protected]