Taipei, 24 Aug: Former US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, put in good words for Republican nominee Donald Trump on Saturday during her visit to Taiwan, saying that an isolationist policy isn’t “healthy” and called on her party to stand with her country’s allies.
Haley, who ran against Trump for the party’s presidential nomination, told reporters in the capital, Taipei, that supporting US allies, including Ukraine and Israel, was vital while underscoring the importance of Taiwan — which Beijing claims as its territory to be brought under control by force if necessary. “I don’t think the isolationist approach is healthy. I think America can never sit in a bubble and think that we won’t be affected,” she said.
While the US doesn’t formally recognise Taiwan, it is the island’s strongest backer and main arms provider. However, Trump’s attempt to reclaim the presidency has fuelled worries. He said Taiwan should pay for US protection in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek published in July and dodged answering the question of whether he would defend the island against a possible Chinese military action.
When Haley shuttered her own bid for the GOP nomination, she did not immediately endorse Trump, having accused him of causing chaos and disregarding the importance of US alliances abroad. But in May she said she would be voting for him while making it clear that she felt her former boss had work to do to win over voters who supported her.
On Saturday, she said that having previously served with Trump’s administration, “we did show American strength in the world”, pointing to their pushback against China and their sanctioning of Russia and North Korea among other efforts.
“I think that all of that strength that we showed is the reason that we didn’t see any wars, we didn’t see any invasions, we didn’t see any harm that happened during that time. I think Donald Trump would bring that back,” she said.
Haley also criticised Trump’s rival US Vice President Kamala Harris, saying she would “do exactly” what President Joe Biden had done. She said Harris was part of his administration when the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and when the Hamas-Israel war broke out last year.
“She was in the situation room right next to Joe Biden. She was there making the exact same decisions. Those decisions have made the world less safe,” she said. (PTI)