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John Wagner
National journalist heads up the political press team at The Post newspaper
In an address to an annual charity dinner in New York City on Thursday night, the outgoing US ambassador, Nikki Haley, daughter of Indian immigrants, recalled the first time President Trump had learned his legacy.
"When the president discovered that I was Indian of Indian origin, he asked me if I belonged to the same tribe as Elizabeth Warren," she said. joked, referring to the Democratic Senator from Massachusetts who released a DNA test this week that showed that she had a distant Native American. ancestor.
That's what happened in Haley's 17-minute speech at the 73rd annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation dinner. She not only mocked her boss and Warren – a potential rival for 2020 – but also took mischievous moves against Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Detective Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) And Bernie Sanders (I-Vt. ), And the condemnation of Trump. campaign president Paul Manafort.
Haley said that when she was preparing for the dinner hosted by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan and attended by the state's political elites, Trump gave him advice.
"He said that if I got stuck in a laugh, I would boast about his accomplishments," Haley said. "He really killed in the United States, I have to tell you."
It was a reference to an embarrassing moment last month when Trump boasted in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly that his administration had accomplished more in two years than "almost any administration" in American history, causing laughter in the room.
Haley, who served as governor of South Carolina before joining the Trump administration, also recalled his childhood as a minority in the state of Palmetto.
"People always wonder if I felt different or isolated as an Indian American who grew up in a rural area of South Carolina. In fact, there was an advantage, "she said. "That made me totally prepared to be Republican in New York."
Haley said she had seen Sessions, Trump's attorney general in crisis, earlier in the day.
"Not in New York," she added. "I saw him on LinkedIn looking for a job. In fact, we were both.
She took note of another no-show at dinner.
"Jeff Flake was going to be here, but he wanted to give the FBI a week to look into the issue," Haley said, referring to the senator's call for a week-long delay in the confirmation process. Senate for Brett J., currently at the Supreme Court, Mr. Kavanaugh to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct while he was in high school.
Haley also said that she was eagerly awaiting Halloween, by attacking Sanders, a self-proclaimed Social Democrat, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), A conservator with chops. .
"I'm still someone who is very excited about Halloween," Haley said, "but in this toxic environment, even that provokes political arguments. Bernie Sanders wants free candies for everyone. Mitch McConnell calls this a typical program of Democratic gifts. The president says it will be the best Halloween party – nothing like it, a huge one! "
Speaking of her current job, which she plans to leave in January, Haley noted that many UK member countries were often angry with the United States.
"Despite all our differences, there is always something that unites the 193 countries," she said. "At one point, each of them was paying Paul Manafort."
Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman, convicted in August for tax evasion and bank fraud, had previously led a lucrative lobbyist career, defending foreign interests.
In the midst of the jokes, Haley, who might still have a political future ahead of her, also delivered a sobering message about the unpleasant political situation in the United States – which some have interpreted as a criticism of Trump.
"In our toxic political environment, I've heard some people in both parties describe their opponents as enemies or villains," Haley said. "In America, our political opponents are not bad. In South Sudan, rape is commonly used as a weapon of war – that is the evil. In Syria, where the dictator uses chemical weapons to murder innocent children, it is wrong. In North Korea, where the American student Otto Warmbier was tortured to death, it was evil.
"These last two years, I've seen the real bad," said Haley. "We have serious political differences here. But our opponents are not bad. These are just our opponents. "
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