Nikki Haley on Love of ‘Barbie,’ Black Son-in-Law and Belief That “America Is Not a Racist Country”

In 2021, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley predicted that former president Donald Trump would “never run for federal office again” because he had “lost any sort of political viability.” Three years later it is clear she underestimated him. It has also become clear that he underestimated her. Among a crowded primary field of more than a dozen candidates, Haley — the only woman — remains the last one standing, challenging Trump’s claim to the Republican nomination, and ultimately, the soul of the GOP. Given his history of boorish conduct with women (most recently being found liable of the sexual abuse of writer E. Jean Carroll), there’s a measure of poetic justice in the fact that it is a woman who refuses to let Donald Trump have the one thing he truly wants: a coronation. Yet despite the passionate following Haley enjoys among Never Trumpers, the rank and the file of the party have rebuked her in every primary to date. On Feb. 24, what many predict could be her last stand, she will face off with Trump in her home state of South Carolina, where she once made history as the first female governor and where she is expected to lose to the former president.

Some see Haley as the most dangerous general election opponent President Biden could face: a gifted female politician who softens many of the Republican Party’s harder edges. To others she is a walking contradiction: Despite chastising some conservative male candidates for the casual cruelty they display in discussing abortion, she also describes herself as “unapologetically pro-life.” A descendant of immigrants, as governor, she signed one of the strictest laws against illegal immigration in the country. And despite generating global acclaim for removing the Confederate flag from the South Carolina State House following the racially charged murder of nine Black parishioners at Mother Emanuel Church, it has been her recent discussion of race that has generated the most controversy. She faced extensive backlash for not citing slavery as a cause of the Civil War during a New Hampshire town hall, before taking pains to correct herself later (including on Saturday Night Live.) One thing she never did through it all was reference her Black family member, a steadfast supporter of her campaign.

On the heels of her buzzy turn on Saturday Night Live, and California fundraisers featuring traditionally Democratic donors labeled “Haley Republicans,” the former U.N. Ambassador spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about her relationship to Hollywood and pop-culture touchstones, her recent missteps on race and what she hopes her long-term impact on American politics will be.

What is your all-time favorite movie?

Shawshank Redemption

What about the last TV series you binged that you loved?

Yellowstone I definitely loved.

What shows did you watch with your family growing up?

Golden Girls and Different Strokes and Facts of Life.

Do you watch the Oscars? Who are you rooting for?

This year I’m not watching much of anything. … I will tell you, though, I really did love the Barbie movie. I thought it was fantastic and watched it with my daughter and loved the messaging of it and the creative side of it. It was a great movie.

What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to?

My first concert was Motley Crüe and Guns & Roses opened up for them. The Super Bowl reminded me of the Usher concert I went to. That was fantastic. I went to Joan Jett — she puts on an amazing show. I love all music. Adele was a fantastic concert. I saw Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden. There are so many…

You received acclaim for removing the Confederate flag from the South Carolina State House. But during this campaign many African Americans have been disappointed with how you’ve discussed race and racism. What would you say to those let down?

I should’ve said slavery [was the cause of the Civil War]. But please understand at that point we had done like 150  to 160 town halls, and the problem was I was overthinking the question. Slavery of course was the reason for the Civil War. I should’ve said it from the very beginning, but I would say judge me on my actions not on words of a night at a town hall.

But then there were your follow up remarks about America not being a racist country.  So how do you respond to someone like my mom who thinks that you have downplayed the impact of racism on society?

I think what you should tell her is she should go listen to the Charlemagne interview that I did because we spent quite a bit of time on race relations and what I said was, I’m not denying that there is racism in America. Yes, there is racism, and we should stomp it out every time we see it, and I did that as governor, and I did it as UN ambassador, and I will do that in everything I ever do. I said America is not a racist country, and my reasoning for that is I don’t think that America was intended to be a racist country. All men were supposed to be created equal with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It took America a while to get that right. But as a brown girl who grew up in a small rural town, if my parents had told me that “you were born into a racist country,” I would’ve always felt like I was disadvantaged. Instead, my parents always said, “You may encounter racism but there’s nothing you can’t do and you should work twice as hard to prove to everybody that you deserve to be in the room.” That’s how I grew up and that’s how I hope every Black and brown kid grows up — that they understand that you are not defined by something that happened in the past. You get to make your future.

You seem to be close to your new son-in-law who happens to be African American. Can you talk about whether him joining your family and the prospect of one day having Black grandchildren has expanded your worldview? 

Look, we love Josh. They are so cute. [My daughter] is a nurse at the children’s hospital, and he is an elementary school teacher. You couldn’t get a more perfect couple. They met at Clemson, and we loved him the second we met him, and he has been an amazing addition to our family.  But we don’t look at race. That’s not what we look at. What we looked at is, was he going to take good care of our daughter and was she better because of him, and both of those things were true. So for us, we don’t think about what color our grandchildren are going to be. We think about how blessed we are that Rena found someone who is her partner and the love of her life.

If our country ends up electing a man recently found liable for sexual abuse as president, what impact do you think that will have on the girls growing up in America today?

I don’t think about what could happen. I think about what I need to do to make sure that doesn’t happen.  So my focus is making sure that everywhere we go when we see young girls — and a lot of them show up at our events, bringing their parents, because they’ve seen me on TV and they want to see someone who looks like them. I remember being that little girl. I remember looking for people who looked like me, and I didn’t see any. What I want is for every girl to know is that we are in charge of what happens to ourselves and that every girl grows up to be a woman that knows that she deserves to be in every room she’s ever in.

After the way Trump has talked about you and your family and his racism and sexism towards you, why do you say that you would still vote for him if he’s the nominee?

Well I think what I said, when there were 14 candidates in the race, is that I thought any of them would be better than Joe Biden. I’m doing everything I can to make sure that it’s not [Trump]. And I think at the end of the day he won’t win a general election, that’s just a fact. Trump can’t beat Biden.