Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has long rejected the idea that the U.S. is a racist country. But when it came time to announce her 2024 candidacy for president on Tuesday, she began by sharing her identity — and a memory of her hometown.
“The railroad tracks divided the town by race,” she said of Bamberg, South Carolina. “I was the proud daughter of Indian immigrants. Not Black, not white, I was different.”
Haley’s announcement makes her the first Republican opponent of former President Donald Trump, whose administration she spent two years in as ambassador to the United Nations.
But if Haley, born Nimrata Randhawa to Sikh Punjabi parents, is trying to make inroads with Indian Americans, experts say it’s not working.
She doesn’t represent the community, said Varun Nikore, executive director of the AAPI Victory Alliance, a nonprofit representing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. In fact, Nikore said, “there’s a multitude of issues where she specifically and the Republican Party are diametrically opposed to where AAPIs are.”
Haley did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Some South Asians say Haley’s on-and-off acknowledgment of her ethnic background is a routine they’re familiar with. Nikore, who has followed Haley’s career since the beginning, says her use of her racial identity often goes hand-in-hand with perpetuating the model minority myth, taking anti-immigration stances and opposing comprehensive education about race in the U.S.
“I think people can see through her much better now than ever before,” Nikore said. “So she can try to talk about her immigrant background, I think it’s going to fall flat.”
But as Asian Americans become more politically active, 2024 presidential candidates across the board will be looking their way, he said.
“Our level of political sophistication has grown by leaps and bounds,” Nikore said. “And that is evidenced by turnout rates and by level of civic…
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