Haley Campaign Press Release - Haley Hits Back on The Story

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Today on Fox News, Nikki Haley spoke with Martha MacCallum about the desperate attacks from her opponents and her plan to grow the Republican party.

On Ron DeSantis' attack on her record as governor...

"Well, I think he went after my record as governor because he's losing. I mean who else can spend a hundred million dollars and drop half in the polls? I mean my record as governor is clear. I took a state that had 11% unemployment. We dropped it down to 4%. We were known as the 'Beast of the Southeast' because we created so many jobs and brought so many companies in. We passed voter ID. We passed one of the toughest illegal immigration bills in the country. We passed the first body camera bill in the country. We were strong and known on every level that South Carolina was on top. By the time I left, we were named the friendliest state in the country, the most patriotic state in the country, and the number two state in the country people were moving to because of our quality life, our low taxes, and what we were getting done in the state. I'm proud of my record. South Carolinians should be proud of our record, and he can talk down about South Carolina but I would remind him if he's here today that's probably not a good idea."

On Trump...

"All these guys know that we're surging in the polls, so they're all starting to hit... he [Trump] knows how strong I was when it came to China. I was actually tougher on China than he was. He just handled the trade part of China, but he didn't do anything about the fentanyl flow. He didn't do anything about them stealing intellectual property, he didn't do anything about them buying U.S. land, he didn't do anything about actually defeating all of the intrusion that was happening in our universities from police stations to creating a spy center off the coast of Cuba. We're going to have to deal with all of that because he didn't deal with any of it. But what I'll tell you is our focus is on making America strong and proud. We're going to do it by getting our economy back on track. We're going to get our kids' reading again. We're going to make sure that crime comes down. We're going to close our borders once and for all, and we're going to let the world know America's back."

On growing the Republican Party...

"I just got the endorsement of the largest conservative grassroots group in the country that's focused on expanding freedom and limiting government. They liked my economic plan, they liked my plan as governor, they liked my policies on how I want to go and get the country back on track. And that's something that every candidate wanted, and we were blessed to get it. So that's the first part of it and it's a very conservative organization so we've got conservatives on the ground... We'll take all the support we can, but let's remember Republicans have lost the last seven out of eight popular votes for president. That's nothing to be proud of. We should want to win the majority of Americans. Anybody that wants to come support the cause, whether they're Republican, Independent, or Democrat, we're going to take them. And that's the way the Republican Party should look at it. This is a story about addition, not about getting people and pushing people away."