In a recent appearance on Fox News, Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, listened while host Sean Hannity listed some of the potential Republican candidates she might have to run against if she decides to seek the White House in 2024. After he named former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, former Secretary of State and former CIA director Mike Pompeo, and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Haley paused and then said with a smile, “Most of them are my friends. … Let the best woman win.”
It was a clever line, but does it hint at a calculated strategy that will subtly build the case that male Republican leaders have failed the party — and the nation — in recent election cycles? To that question, during that same interview, Haley reminded Hannity and his substantial audience…
