Richmond and Falls Church (Virginia), Mar 1 (PTI) Indian-American Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has hammered her rival Donald Trump for being all about himself as she told enthusiastic crowds here that one more term for her ex-boss would throw the country into another four years of chaos.
Haley was addressing two well-attended political rallies on Thursday in Richmond and Falls Church in Virginia, which is one of the 16 states for Super Tuesday.
To earn the party’s nomination either of the two candidates – Trump and Haley — need at least 1,215 delegates. After primaries in five States – Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina, and Michigan, Trump has 122 delegates and Haley has 24 delegates in her kitty.
Both her rallies in Richmond and Falls Church were marked with protestors who were opposed to her candidacy, and many said were supporters of 77-year-old Trump, who is leading the national polls against 52-year-old Haley by more than 64 percentage points, according to Real Clear Politics that monitors all such polls.
Addressing overflowing halls in Virginia, Haley hammered Trump for being all about himself and alleged that he cares little about the country and its people.
She told the cheering crowd that electing Trump as the president would result in four years of chaos in the US.
“Everybody in the media is trying to figure out ‘why does she keep fighting?’” Haley told the crowd in Richmond, VA, “The answer is I’m doing this for my kids, and your kids,” she said.
Asserting that the administration of both Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden has worsened the country’s economy, she said it’s time to have an accountant in the White House, which was greeted with applause from the audience.
The two rallies attracted many Indian Americans in Virginia, which has a significant Indian American population.
They said that it’s a difference of day and night between her and Trump.
“She’s very charismatic, she’s clever, she’s compassionate. She’s a very eloquent speaker, and she said all the right things. She demonstrated leadership today in multiple different ways. And she is without a doubt, the best candidate that’s running today,” eminent Indian American Suresh Shenoy told PTI.
“What I liked about Nikki Haley is she based everything on data and numbers and not subjective like many of the other politicians do? I really admired her for that. And also the vision that she set for America, I think is just fabulous,” said Neena Shenoy after the rallies.
Attending the first rally of Haley, Sachin Chandra from Virginia described it as amazing.
“I think she has to beat those two dudes. That’s really what it comes down to. She will be awesome for the country and for the world,” he said. Haley has clarity of thought and policies. “There’s no ulterior motives. It’s just what a president should be standing for,” he said.
The main difference between Trump and Haley is their character, said Shankar Krishna.
“She’s not afraid to speak the truth. You don’t need lies. She’s saying things that take us to the right place and do the right things, Get us out of this deck. A lot of problems in the country that we need to solve, and we need practical American solutions. And I think Trump just talks about himself, his issues,” he said.
Haley, he said, is thinking about the future of America. “She is thinking about our kids and grandkids, leaving them a good future for them. I think she was saying things that just resonated with our community and our generation. She speaks a lot for all Americans,” Chandra said.
The public events of the Indian American Republican presidential candidate were disrupted by protestors at both Richmond and Falls Church. “Ceasefire now! End the genocide!” said one of the protestors in Richmond. “You are fired,” said another protest in Falls Church. Both places saw more than half a dozen protests each. The protestors were soon taken out of the door.
Haley was expecting the protest as she warned her supporters at the start of her speech. “To my protester friends, please, please be respectful,” she told the protestors. A man in the crowd shouted, “Get out!” As one of the protesters started shouting, she said: “I told you.” She urged the voters to vote for her.
“We need to make our voices heard. In a general election, we’re given a choice. In a primary, we make our choice,” she said. “This is a decision between do we want more of the same, or we want a new direction. More of the same is not just Joe Biden, more of the same is Donald Trump,” she said.
“We can’t be a country in disarray and a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos. We won’t survive it,” Haley said.
Super Tuesday is the US presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of US states hold primary elections and caucuses. PTI LKJ AMS AKJ AMS
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