Nikki Haley has fun with Trump and herself at Al Smith Dinner



[ad_1]

Nikki R. Haley joked about President Trump's boast in his speech at the United Nations last month. Once she said, he asked her if she belonged to the same Native American tribe as Senator Elizabeth Warren. And as a member of Mr. Trump's office, she added, "It's a pleasure to go out for dinner without being harassed."

For about 17 minutes Thursday night in the New York Hilton ballroom, Ms. Haley, Trump's ambassador about to leave the United Nations, has launched a race in front of a crowd of 700 guests at the annual Al Smith Charity Dinner Conference, a high-profile event of the political and Catholic elite, hosted by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan.

This is a kind of laudable opportunity for Ms. Haley, a 46-year-old Republican star who is widely perceived to have presidential ambitions – though she rejected the idea of ​​running against Mr. Trump, with whom she appears maintain good relations. .

However, it is still unclear why Ms. Haley left her post at the UN after less than two years and her monologue did nothing to provide answers.

But she joked about it. After lunching with Cardinal Dolan a few weeks ago to prepare her speech, she told the crowd, "I asked," Is there anything I can do to actually increase the rate of participation? And he said, "Why do not you resign at the UN? ? Ambassador & # 39; "

Ms. Haley said the chair had also called her with advice.

"I'm proud of my achievements," she said. "He really killed in the United States, I have to tell you."

Haley is the daughter of immigrants from India, who grew up in the south of the country and became the first female governor and the first minority governor. She had a little fun with that too.

When the president first learned of her Indian heritage, she said, "He asked me if I belonged to the same tribe as Elizabeth Warren," the Democratic senator from Massachusetts who could challenge Mr. Trump in 2020 He ridiculed Ms. Warren's behavior. claims of Native American ancestry.

Ms. Haley said that growing up as an American-born Indian discriminated against in South Carolina was that it "totally prepared me to be Republican in New York."

Ms. Haley also condemned the New York Times for an article published last month in which it is wrongly said that the Trump administration had spent more than US $ 52,000 for curtains for his diplomatic residence. The curtains had been ordered by the Obama administration. (The Times corrected the article to make it clear.)

But Mrs. Haley was not satisfied. She joked that the newspaper had simply "changed the title to" Obama creates high-paying jobs in the curtain industry ".

Ms. Haley also complained of false headlines, including one that said rapper Kanye West had been sworn in for her. "Oh, wait, it could really happen," she said.

Comedian Jim Gaffigan, comedian Jim Gaffigan, introduced Haley as a speaker: "It's amazing how Nikki Haley came out of this administration with such dignity."

Sitting on the three-tiered Hilton Ballroom stage, Ms. Haley and her husband, Michael, were surrounded by influential figures from the New York government, finance, media, real estate and business. philanthropy. They included Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio, former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Senator Chuck Schumer, former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, the financier of Wall Street Stephen A. Schwarzman and television reporters Maria Bartiromo of Fox. News and Jeff Glor of CBS News.

Ms. Haley's keynote address was the first prestigious appearance she made to the United Nations since she announced the resignation of her ambassadorial post at the end of the year.

His opinion, which surprised many White House officials, immediately sparked recurring speculation that Ms. Haley may be running again for a term and may even challenge Mr. Trump. But Ms. Haley categorically denied such a prospect when she appeared with the President at the White House on October 9 to officially announce his resignation.

On the contrary, Ms. Haley announced her intention to campaign for the re-election of Mr. Trump. And Mr Trump said that he hoped that she would come back to work for him.

Despite his assurances of loyalty to the president, the departure of Ms. Haley will allow him to distance himself from any setbacks that could suffer the Republicans in mid-term elections in November, in less than three weeks.

Entering her post with little diplomatic experience, Ms. Haley has nonetheless been a star of foreign policy in the Trump administration and one of the few prominent women she occupies. She has been seen as a constant voice amid the rolling and dysfunctional White House.

The annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation dinner, as officially known, has become a prominent political showcase over its seven decades.

Keynote speakers included presidents, presidential candidates, and diplomatic and cultural personalities such as Winston Churchill, Tony Blair, John F. Kennedy and Bob Hope.

Speakers often engage in self-destructive jokes, along with moral messages and charity work from the foundation, which has raised almost $ 4 million this year for Catholic children's charities.

[ad_2]
Source link