A super PAC backing former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley's presidential campaign launched two new ads in Iowa and New Hampshire lauding her aggressive stance against China, a key component in her messaging strategy and a notable shift away from former President Donald Trump's oxygen-stealing legal problems.
The ads released on Thursday are part of Stand For America Fund PAC's $13 million ad buy across broadcast, cable, and digital streaming services. In the thirty-second "Rock Star" ad that airs in New Hampshire, Haley is seen denigrating China and pushing a harsh stance against Chinese influence. "The No. 1 threat we have is China," she says in the clip.
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"The dictators, murderers, and thieves at the U.N. didn't know what them," she later says."We give money to China. When I am president we will no longer give money to countries that hate America."
The 30-second "Spine" ad airing in Iowa shows Haley again slamming China's aggressive tactics. "We need to take China head-on," Haley says. "The way you do that is you say China will no longer buy any American soil whatsoever. And we don't stop there. We take back the U.S. soil they have already purchased."
Both ads feature Fox News's Greg Gutfeld praising the former governor. "Haley shows us what foreign policy looks like, with a spine," Gutfeld says before a narrator declares Haley as the "surprise rockstar" of Trump's administration.
SFA Fund hopes the strong anti-China stance will resonate with voters in the two crucial early-nominating states.
"Haley is the only candidate in this race with a proven track record of standing up to tyrannical leadership at home and abroad. She was the first to take a strong stance on China, and she hasn’t let up yet. While other candidates are a laughingstock to foreign enemies, Nikki Haley is a force to be reckoned with," Mark Harris, lead strategist of the Haley super PAC, told the Iowa Torch.
On the campaign trail, Haley has repeatedly lambasted President Joe Biden's foreign policy stances regarding China. "Joe Biden’s new rules are not even a half measure,” Haley said last week about Biden banning U.S. investment in China's technology sector. "They will do little to stop American money flowing to China’s military through its tech companies. To stop funding China’s military, we have to stop all U.S. investment in China’s critical technology and military companies — period."
In an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt last week, Haley claimed Biden was leading the nation into war with China after it had sent 11 military ships near the Aleutian in conjunction with Russia. "I think that we should make sure that we’re not in a conflict with China. And I think that President Biden’s doing everything he can to make sure that we walk into it," she said. "You don’t run scared from China. You have to be strong. You have to make sure they know what we’re focused on."
Haley previously called for an increased economic and military ramp-up to curtail the growing influence of China in a foreign policy speech delivered in June. "As president, my top priority will be strengthening America’s economy and America’s military," she said. "We will protect America’s prosperity and homeland from Chinese aggression."
The focus on China is in stark contrast to presidential primary media coverage, which has become engulfed by Trump's five indictments across four criminal cases, a fact that Haley has publicly stated she is tired of focusing on.
“Unlike the other candidates, I didn't rush out with a statement yesterday on Trump's indictment for one simple reason — like most Americans, I'm tired of commenting on every Trump drama,” said Haley in the wake of special counsel Jack Smith's federal indictment against Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election earlier this month. “I've lost track of whether this indictment is the third or fourth or the fifth."
“We should be focusing on how to stop China. We should be focusing on how to close the border. We need to be reversing Bidenomics,” Haley continued in her interview with the Good Morning New Hampshire with Jack Heath radio show
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A Pew Research Center survey released in April showed that 83% of U.S. adults have a negative perception of China. And 90% said China's partnership with Russia was either a very serious problem for the U.S. or a somewhat serious problem.
But whether Haley can translate that into a winning campaign remains to be seen. She currently polls at 3.4% in a RealClearPolitics polling average. Next week's Republican National Committee primary debate may give Haley the chance for a breakout moment that propels her campaign's momentum.