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Nikki Haley says will run for president in 2024, becomes Trump’s first challenger 

Nikki Haley says will run for president in 2024, becomes Trump’s first challenger 

She is the first Republican to officially challenge Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination

Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina Republican governor and Donald Trump’s then-ambassador to the United Nations, on Tuesday announced that she will run for the president in 2024.

Notably, she is the first Republican to officially challenge Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination.

The announcement made through a video shared on her official Twitter handle marks the about-face of the American diplomat who had expressed her unwillingness two years ago to challenge for former boss for the 2024 bid.

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However, in recent months, she changed her mind citing, among other things, the country's economic troubles and the need for "generational change," a nod to the 76-year-old Trump's age.

If elected, the 51-year-old would be the nation's first female president and the first USpresident of Indian descent.The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley grew up enduring racist taunts in a small South Carolina town and has long referenced that impact on her personal and political views.

While starting out as an accountant, Hailey made the headlines after defeating the longest-serving member of the South Carolina House in 2004. Three terms later and with little statewide recognition, Haley mounted a long-shot campaign for governor against a large field of experienced politicians.

In 2010 victory, she became South Carolina’s first female and minority governor, and also the nation’s youngest at 38. She earned a speaking slot at the 2012 Republican National Convention and gave the GOP response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union in 2016.

The defining moment of Haley’s time as governor came after the2015 murders of nine Black parishionersin a Charleston church by a self-avowed white supremacist who had been pictured holding Confederate flags.

(With inputs from agencies)

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