Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley fought back tears Tuesday when talking about her husband’s military deployment overseas, during a campaign speech in which she pledged to keep up her battle against former President Trump for the 2024 presidential nomination.
Haley urged a crowd in South Carolina, ahead of Saturday's primary in the state, to share in her vision of a country where “we can still unite and move forward together — not with anger, not with fear, but with faith and hope, like we've done before.”
She said this same vision motivated both her and her husband Michael to serve their country, growing emotional when discussing her husband’s military deployment — a topic that has become a focus of the campaign since Trump took aim at her husband’s absence from the campaign trail.
“This vision has guided every generation. It summoned me to serve as governor of this great state and as ambassador for the greatest country in the world. And that same vision called my husband to serve in the uniform of the United States. He's a major in the South Carolina Army National Guard,” Haley said.
“As I prepare for what lies ahead, Michael is at the forefront of my mind,” she continued, before pausing for several seconds, apparently trying to gather herself. The crowd then applauded, as Haley smiled and took a sip from a glass of water.
“I wish Michael was here today. And I wish our children and I could see him tonight, but we can't,” Haley continued, her voice shaky.
“He's serving on the other side of the world, where conflict is the norm, where terrorists hide among the innocent, where Iran’s terrorist proxies are now attacking American troops. This is Michael’s second deployment. It was hard for us to say goodbye to him the first time when he deployed to Afghanistan. It was even harder last summer when he deployed to Africa.”
In recent weeks, Trump has mocked the married couple's relationship, questioning in public why Michael was not on the road with her, despite Trump's own wife, Melania, being largely absent from his campaign.
Trump mocked the size of one of Haley's rallies last week, saying it was an embarrassment to her husband and that he "should come back home to help save her dying campaign.”
Haley has fought back against those attacks and continued to do so in her remarks Tuesday.
“As every military family knows, when a loved one deploys, we start the yearlong prayer. It's a prayer for their safety more than anything else. But it's also a prayer of gratitude,” she said.
“The kids and I know why Michael went. He stepped up to keep us safe. And not just us. He stepped up to defend our nation's freedom. And our way of life. Michael is fighting for the country he loves. So are all of his brothers and sisters in arms wherever their stationed in this dangerous world. They have made their stand because America is worth fighting and even dying for.”
“Now I will continue to make my stand because America is worth living for,” she said.
