Nikki Haley holds herself up as the adult in the room – but from this journalist’s perspective, she appears to be nothing more than a petty, thin-skinned, petulant child.
Perhaps, worse.
On Friday, Haley’s campaign booted out DailyMail.com journalists from her New Hampshire rally – and then informed the website, one of the largest English-language online news outlets in the world – that they’ll be banned from any and all future events.
It’s enough to make one wonder: Did something rub off on the former U.N. Ambassador as she sat next to Russia, China and Iran?
This is not how it works in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
So, what happened that was so ghastly, so horrid, so out-of-bounds that it merited a campaign trail death sentence?
Nothing more than journalists doing their jobs.
Earlier Friday, DailyMail.com reported on exclusive new sources alleging that Haley was lying in 2010 when she denied having two alleged extramarital affairs.
The initial claims were based on the sworn affidavits of Will Folks, 49, and Larry Marchant, 61.
On Friday, Haley’s campaign booted out DailyMail.com journalists from her New Hampshire rally – and then informed the website, one of the largest English-language online news outlets in the world – that they’ll be banned from any and all future events.
The two South Carolina men alleged to have had separate sexual relationships with Haley while she was a South Carolina state lawmaker and before she became governor of the Palmetto State in 2011.
The new reporting – based on the claims of multiple Republican Party sources ‘intimately aware’ of the allegations – is that Haley’s alleged infidelities were widely known inside South Carolina political circles.
So, this week, per good journalist practice, DailyMail.com contacted the Haley campaign and offered them an opportunity to comment.
But instead of issuing a furious denial, or, in fact, any comment at all, Haley responded with an illiberal, un-American tantrum.
The question is – why not respond to DailyMail.com and refute the new claims?
I can’t answer that question.
Moreover, DailyMail.com is hardly hostile to Haley’s campaign.
On Wednesday, the site published an opinion piece by the beloved TV courtroom judge – Judge Judy.
‘It takes a lot for me to support any one candidate so strongly,’ wrote Judge Sheindlin. ‘But Nikki Haley’s integrity, intelligence, energy, and experience speak for themselves.’
Two South Carolina men alleged to have had separate sexual relationships with Haley while she was a South Carolina state lawmaker and before she became governor of the Palmetto State in 2011. (Left) Larry Marchant Jr., 61, a Columbia lobbyist (Right) Will Folks, 49 – Haley’s former communications consultant
Of course, one can see why the Governor would be personally discomfited by this reporting, but this unquestionably legitimate report cuts straight to the heart of Haley’s raison d’etre.
If proven true, the allegations undermine one of her key talking points – that her husband’s service in the South Carolina Army National Guard is a driving force behind her run.
‘I’m doing this for my husband and his military brothers and sisters. They need to know their sacrifice matters,’ Haley often says.
And that’s not all.
When asked at a debate if Donald Trump had the ‘character’ to be elected president again, Haley said that ‘moral clarity’ is a prerequisite for the position.
You see, Missus Haley – this is a job interview. Not a coronation or a launching pad for your ambitions.
If you’d like hold the same office as George Washington, Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, you’ll have to face a few tough, perhaps, uncomfortable questions.
It is not the role of journalists to lick the boots of politicians.
It’s our duty to hold your feet to the fire.
Haley has exhibited an authoritarian street. And this isn’t the first time she has veered in the direction of despotic attacks.
Recall how Haley has called for social media companies to ban anonymous users from posting on their platforms. In the age of the digital town square – that’s a chilling prospect.
It is now fair to ask: what type of administration would Nikki Haley run if she so recklessly tramples on a free press?
Donald Trump has called the media, ‘the enemy of the people.’ Doddering Joe Biden dodges journalists’ questions at nearly every opportunity.
If proven true, the allegations undermine one of her key talking points – that her husband’s (Above behind Haley) service in the South Carolina Army National Guard is a driving force behind her run.
The Obama Administration shamelessly branded the Fox News Channel an illegitimate news organization, targeted its journalists with wiretaps and President Obama refused to appear on their shows.
Should we expect more of the same from President Haley?
No, journalists in America shouldn’t take Friday’s events lightly – and in the past, they haven’t.
‘Donald Trump just barred Washington Post reporters from campaign events. That should bother you,’ wrote the Washington Post in 2016.
What say you now, WaPo?
This is a very dangerous game that Nikki Haley is playing.
If this is pettiness, it belies a childishness that ought not be in the Oval Office.
If it is strategy – it is idiotic. It won’t have the slightest impact on the way honest journalists cover her.
If this is vicious retaliation – well, that is alarming.
The knock on Nikki is that she is a globalist puppet. If this doesn’t signal tone-deaf elitism, I don’t know what does.
You can ban journalists from your events, Madame Ambassador. But you can never stop the American media from seeking the truth.
It is disgraceful that you would even try.