Politicians From South Carolina

"The latest fighting in Yemen has exacerbated the world’s worst humanitarian crisis — where the United Nations warns about 80% of Yemen’s 30 million residents are in need of assistance. World Food Programme director David Beasley said Friday that Yemen tops the list of nations at risk of famine due to war, disease and the climate crisis... Beasley predicts a record 235 million people around the world will need humanitarian aid next year — a 40% increase from 2020. The World Food Programme will receive the Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday, International Human Rights Day."

"Because of so many wars, climate change, the widespread use of hunger as a political and military weapon, and a global health pandemic that makes all of that exponentially worse, 270 million people are marching toward starvation. Failure to address their needs will cause a hunger pandemic which will dwarf the impact of COVID. And if that’s not bad enough, out of that 270 million, 30 million depend on us 100% for their survival. How will humanity respond?"

"The United Nations today announced the appointment of David Beasley of the United States as the Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), which delivers emergency food assistance around the world and works with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. In a statement, Secretary-General Guterres said that Mr. Beasley “brings to the position extensive experience with key governmental and business leaders and stakeholders around the world, with very strong resource mobilisation skills.” Mr. Beasley, who is the Chair of the Center for Global Strategies, was Governor of the state of South Carolina from 1995 to 1999. He will replace Ertharin Cousin, also a US national, whose five-year term expires on 4 April."

"Thank you for acknowledging our work of using food to combat hunger, to mitigate against destabilization of nations, to prevent mass migration, to end conflict and to create stability and peace. We believe food is the pathway to peace. I wish today that I could speak of how, working together, we could end hunger for all the 690 million people who go to bed hungry every night, but today we have a crisis at hand. This Nobel Peace Prize is more than a thank you; it is a call to action."

"We’ve now reached stratospheric inequality. Billionaires burning into space, away from a world of pandemic, climate change and starvation. 11 people are likely now dying of hunger each minute while Bezos prepares for an 11-minute personal space flight. This is human folly, not human achievement. The ultra-rich are being propped up by unfair tax systems and pitiful labor protections. US billionaires got around $1.8 trillion richer since the beginning of the pandemic and nine new billionaires were created by Big Pharma’s monopoly on the COVID-19 vaccines. Bezos pays next to no US income tax but can spend $7.5 billion on his own aerospace adventure. Bezos' fortune has almost doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic. He could afford to pay for everyone on Earth to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and still be richer than he was when the pandemic began."

"In October, David Beasley, head of the U.N. food agency, tweeted a cheeky congratulations to Musk for reportedly earning $36 billion in a single day. "1/6 of your one-day increase would save 42 million lives that are knocking on famine's door," he wrote... Musk tweeted: "If WFP can describe on this Twitter thread exactly how $6B will solve world hunger, I will sell Tesla stock right now and do it." ...Beasley quickly clarified that his earlier tweet referred to feeding "people on the brink of starvation" and not solving world hunger, he invited Musk to meet "anywhere—Earth or space" to discuss the potential donation. So far, Musk has made no commitments to the agency. Still... How much of a dent would $6 billion make when it comes to feeding millions? ...WFP raised $8.4 billion last year, yet the global food crisis has only worsened. In fact, since Musk and Beasley first started their Twitter conversation, the total number of people at risk of famine has risen to 45 million... In response to Musk's request for details, Beasley tweeted him the math: "$.43 x 42,000,000 x 365 days = $6.6 billion." That's how much it would cost to provide one meal a day for one year to this population in need...The food aid, says WFP, consists of commodities such as rice, maize and high-energy biscuits. Elon Musk asked Twitter followers if he should sell Tesla shares. They said yes."

"I was out in the middle of Niger. And somebody just comes busting into our meeting, said, 'Nobel Peace Prize! Nobel Peace Prize!' And I'm like, "Well, yeah, wow, who won it?' And they're like, 'We did!' That was the greatest surprise in my life. And wow, wow, wow!"

"The executive director of the World Food Program is calling for the world’s billionaires to step up and help his organization fight hunger... David Beasley... said he was supportive of capitalism but added that capitalism without a heart is a disaster... Beasley said that the world’s billionaires needed to step up. He specifically mentioned Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and said that he needed just 10% of the $64 billion Bezos’s wealth grew by last year to fund the food program... Beasley also lambasted the media at several points during his speech for focusing on distractions like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and not focusing on the food needs of the world. He called for the media to be more balanced between those distractions and the food needs of the world."

"The cost of supporting the Syrian in Syria is about 50 cents per day. That same Syrian ends up in Berlin or Brussels or London, it is 50 to 100 euros per day. And we know that people don't want to leave home. But if they don't have food and they don't have some degree of peace and stability, they will do what any of us would do for our children. So it's a lot cheaper to come in and prevent the destabilization than it is to have war and conflict afterwards."

"I think they [the Nobel Committee] were doing two things. They were saying thank you to the women and men who put their lives on the line every day to bring peace, stability, and food security. But the second thing is they were sending a message to the world: the hardest work is yet to come for the World Food Programme because the needs of 2021 are going to be so critical that failure to address those needs will result in war, famine, and mass migration."

"The United States has always been the most generous nation on Earth. And I don't expect the United States to back down now, because it's going to be a lot cheaper to come in and do it right and prevent a lot of migration and a lot of destabilization and, in fact, a lot of deaths from hunger. People are dying now, about every five seconds a child dies from hunger... when it comes to food aid and stabilizing nations and preventing famine, it's remarkable to watch the Republicans and the Democrats come together, lay aside their differences and literally do what they can. And it's been quite a miracle to see. We went from about 1.9 billion when I arrived 3.5 years ago to now about almost four billion dollars from the United States. And so whether you talk about Bush, Obama or Trump and I know Biden will- we will have the support we need from Republicans and Democrats to help the needy people around the world. But this is a one time extraordinary crisis. And we're going to... have to ask the billionaires to step up in a way they've never done before."

"It is as bad as you possibly can imagine. In fact, we’re now looking at the worst humanitarian crisis on Earth. Ninety-five percent of the people don’t have enough food, and now we’re looking at 23 million people marching toward starvation. Out of that, almost 9 million are knocking on famine’s door. The winter months are coming. We’re coming out of a drought. The next six months are going to be catastrophic. It is going to be hell on Earth."

"1/6 of your one-day increase would save 42 million lives that are knocking on famine's door... $.43 x 42,000,000 x 365 days = $6.6 billion. [how much it would cost to provide one meal a day for one year to this population in need]"

"There are no famines yet. But I must warn you that if we don’t prepare and act now – to secure access, avoid funding shortfalls and disruptions to trade – we could be facing multiple famines of biblical proportions within a short few months."

"Jeff Bezos is getting rich not because of the profits of Amazon, but because of the increase of the share price. You’ve heard that he made what, $60 billion since the beginning of the pandemic? That’s not because of the profits of Amazon... The actual profits are nothing like that. It’s maybe one billion altogether, but he made 60! From the share price."

"When I joined the World Food Program a few years ago, the number of people that were marching toward the brink of starvation was about 80 million people. But over the past three years pre-COVID, it spiked up to 135 million. And you ask the question why? The primary reason was manmade conflict, compounded with climate extremes and fragile- fragile governments. But since COVID has come in and truly exacerbated every extenuating circumstances we had around the world, the numbers are going from 135 million from one year ago to 270 million people marching to the brink of starvation. This is not people going to bed hungry. This is people really struggling to get their next meal... if we don't address this...this is what we're looking at- we're looking at famines, destabilization and mass migration. And it's a lot cheaper to come in and prevent it and do it right. You know, if people in the United States are struggling for food, what [do] you imagine is happening in Niger, Burkina Faso or South Sudan?"

"The governments are tapped out. This is why and this is when ... the billionaires need to step up now on a one-time basis, $6 billion to help 42 million people that are literally going to die if we don't reach them. It's not complicated... I'm not asking them to do this every day, every week, every year... We have a one-time crisis: a perfect storm of conflict, climate change and COVID. ...Just help me with them one time... The world's in trouble and you're telling me you can't give me .36% of your net worth increase to help the world in trouble, in times like this?... What if it was your daughter starving to death? What if it was your family starving to death? Wake up, smell the coffee, and help... My god, people are dying out there... We have a vaccine for this. It's called money, food."

"The wealth that we have in this country is extraordinary. Last year, at the height of COVID, a billionaire was created every 17 hours. The average net worth increase by the billionaire community – that’s over 2,000 billionaires worldwide – was $5.2 billion per day... I need an additional $6 billion this year to reach the 41 million ... that are knocking on famine’s door... Let me tell you what will happen if I don’t reach those ... countries with that $6 billion. Yes, you’ll have starvation, mass starvation. You will have destabilization of nations. And you will have mass migration.... The price tag to fix it will not be $6 billion... It will be trillions of dollars."

"We are now looking, literally, at 2021 being the worst humanitarian crisis year since the beginning of the United Nations. … We have to prioritize, as I say, the icebergs in front of the Titanic. We’ve really got to give priority to famine, destabilization and migration."

"As a natural right, belongs to none but those who have been born of citizens."

"Citizenship by inheritance belongs to none but the children of those Americans, who, having survived the Declaration of Independence, acquired that adventitious character in their own right, and transmitted it to their offspring."

"Citizenship is the inheritance of the children of those who have taken part in the late revolution; but this is confined exclusively to the children of those who were themselves citizens."

"My race needs no special defense, for the past history of them in this country proves them to be equal of any people anywhere. All they need is an equal chance in the battle of life."

"I ask that every colored man in the North who has a vote to cast would cast that vote for the regular Republican Party and thus bury the Democratic Party so deep that there will not be seen even a bubble coming from the spot where the burial took place"

"Good morning, sir! I've brought you some of the old United States guns, sir!"

"Last year, the President promised he would use his pen and phone to ignore the legislative branch and push through his agenda by executive fiat. We have witnessed one executive power grab after another, setting a dangerous precedent and eroding the constitutional balance set forward by our Founders. As the President himself once said, elections have consequences. The most recent one being he must work with the Republican-controlled Congress, rather than spout recycled, failed ideas from past speeches. Americans are looking for leadership. They want solutions."

"Insulting people does not work if your objective is to persuade them. When a person is insulted, they become even more dogmatic in holding their incorrect belief. If you are going to say that the Lord called you to go into politics, then you need to act like it. If you are not going to act like it, then you need to take His name out of the equation."

"“I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our Country,” he says in a post on Truth Social."

"There is a great future behind Nikki Haley. She will never be the voice of truth she briefly was in 2016, and she will never be MAGA enough to satisfy the base of her party. But no one should feel sorry for Ms. Haley. It was her choice."

"Just over a month ago, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said that the administration had “undeniable” evidence... available only to the United States intelligence community to prove her case. But the evidence fell significantly short. As I watched Ms. Haley... I wanted to play the video of Mr. Powell on the wall behind her, so that Americans could recognize instantly how they were being driven down the same path as in 2003 — ultimately to war. Only this war with Iran, a country of almost 80 million people whose vast strategic depth and difficult terrain make it a far greater challenge than Iraq, would be 10 to 15 times worse than the Iraq war in terms of casualties and costs... Though Ms. Haley’s presentation missed the mark, and no one other than the national security elite will even read the strategy, it won’t matter. We’ve seen this before: a campaign built on the politicization of intelligence and shortsighted policy decisions to make the case for war. And the American people have apparently become so accustomed to executive branch warmongering — approved almost unanimously by the Congress — that such actions are not significantly contested."

"As a former Republican political operative who worked in South Carolina presidential primaries, I look at Ms. Haley now, as she prepares to launch her own presidential campaign, with sadness tinged with regret for what could have been. But I’m not a bit surprised. Her rise and fall only highlights what many of us already knew: Mr. Trump didn’t change the Republican Party; he revealed it. Ms. Haley, for all her talents, embodies the moral failure of the party in its drive to win at any cost, a drive so ruthless and insistent that it has transformed the G.O.P. into an autocratic movement. It’s not that she has changed positions to suit the political moment or even that she has abandoned beliefs she once claimed to be deeply held. It’s that the 2023 version of Ms. Haley is actively working against the core values that the 2016 Ms. Haley would have held to be the very foundation of her public life."

"Ultimately, a dust-up between the former president and any Republican challenger is inevitable. What matters is that Haley is a formidable candidate who brings the executive experience from her days as governor as well as the foreign policy experience from her time as ambassador. This experience, paired with her ability to bring people together, her background as a mom and a military spouse, and her track record of fighting the uphill battle of running against old white men – is exactly why she is the right candidate, at the right moment, for Republicans to rally behind as we look to win back the White House in 2024."

"In her 2019 book, With All Due Respect, the sort of autobiography candidates feel obligated to produce before launching a presidential campaign, Ms. Haley mentions Mr. Trump 163 times, overwhelmingly complimentary. In one lengthy passage, she insists that she was not alluding to him in her 2016 Republican response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech, when she called on Americans to resist “the siren call of the angriest voices.” It is always sad to see politicians lack the courage to say what should be said, but sadder still to see them speak up and later argue any courageous intent was misinterpreted. It didn’t have to be this way. No one forced Ms. Haley to accept Mr. Trump after he bragged about assaulting women in the “Access Hollywood” tape. No one forced her to defend the Confederate flag. No one forced her to assert Mr. Trump had “lost any sort of political viability” not long after the Capitol riot, then reverse herself, saying she “would not run if President Trump ran,” then prepare to challenge Mr. Trump for the nomination. There is nothing new or novel about an ambitious politician engaging in transactional politics, but that’s a rare trifecta of flip-flop-flip."

"In a scenario in which Trump loses in November, Haley is sure to be viewed in a different light. And so is the wing of the party she leads. Her message will have been validated; the party would be coming off four successive election disappointments, all of which would be linked to Trump. In the event of a Trump loss, the exit polls would likely tell a familiar story about how women voters and the suburbs rejected Trump — precisely the kinds of voters who like Haley. It’s possible that by 2028, Trump’s grip on the party might not have loosened. And MAGA voters would likely remain unforgiving. But even if she remains an outcast, at 52 years old, Haley’s horizon extends well beyond 2028. She figures to be a national figure for more than a decade to come — if she ran for president in 2040, she’d still be younger than Trump when he was sworn in as president. At the moment, it’s hard to envision a place for Haley in the GOP current iteration. But the party has a history of rewarding the tenacious, and for giving its failed presidential candidates a second chance, whether it’s Thomas Dewey, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole, George H.W. Bush, John McCain or Mitt Romney. Even Trump, another failed presidential candidate, is getting a second bite at the apple."

"Haley faces a high hurdle in even convincing Republican voters that a woman can be president. A December 2022 USA Today poll revealed just how challenging gender is in Republican politics. Overall, a majority of voters (55 percent) say that gender doesn’t matter in presidential elections. Those who did have a preference chose a male president by more than 2-1, 28 percent-12 percent. Among Republicans, 50 percent said the ideal president would be male while a paltry 2 percent said she would be female. In contrast, Democrats with a preference chose a woman over a man by 2-1, 24 percent-11 percent. Among those voters with a preference, men by 8-1 preferred a male president over a female one, 32 percent-4 percent. Even women were somewhat more likely to prefer a male president (25 percent-19 percent). Politics is as much about time and place as it is about talent. And in this time and place, the hurdles for a woman in the Republican Party are exceptionally high. Whether we agree with Haley’s positions or not, we should all root for a level political playing field that stays in the bounds of decency and civility. Unfortunately, in today’s Republican political reality, the chances that happens are slim to none."

"More than a handful of Republicans are already sniffing around the 2024 presidential contest. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Sen. (and former governor) Rick Scott and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are just some of the Republicans who might launch White House bids if former President Donald Trump doesn’t seek a second term. And some of them might take the plunge even if Trump does seek the nomination again in two years."

"She’s stayed in all this time and hundreds of millions of dollars has been spent on really what has been a vanity project, and hearing today that she was going to suspend her campaign – and still not endorse President Trump – that’s not unifying. And I think it’s time that she does unify, get behind President Trump."

"Yes, it's part of a traditional – you know, it's part of tradition [...] And so, when you look at that, if you have the same as you have Black History Month and you have Confederate History Month and all of those. As long as it's done where it is in a positive way and not in a negative way, and it doesn't go to harm anyone, and it goes back to where it focuses on the traditions of the people that are wanting to celebrate it, then I think it's fine."

"If this were the Republican Party of 10 years ago, Haley would be a candidate with enviable advantages, having served as a South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador. She is staunchly pro-life, and she is a woman of color — significant for a party that has wanted to diversify for years. But given the reality of Republican Party politics today, her presidential dream could become a nightmare. Under the best of circumstances, women who run for president face a particularly pernicious strain of American gender bias that has overshadowed every previous campaign. Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign was plagued with sexist double standards that played a huge part in derailing her. In 2020, six women candidates competed in the Democratic presidential field and received more negative coverage than their male counterparts. As I wrote about at the time, the combination of benign neglect from the media and disproportionately negative coverage certainly impeded their prospects. On the Republican side, Carly Fiorina faced an endless barrage of sexist attacks from then candidate Donald Trump and others when she ran for president in 2016. And women of color in the political arena, like Haley, are twice as likely as other candidates to be targeted with misinformation and disinformation."

"Under Haley’s leadership, South Carolina thrived. Unemployment rates fell and South Carolina’s Department of Commerce announced tens of thousands of jobs had been created under her tenure and billions in capital investment flowed into the state. She also spearheaded efforts to pass a law that added transparency to the legislative process and required South Carolina lawmakers to vote on the record more frequently. In the aftermath of the 2015 mass-shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, Haley worked tirelessly to unify our state and successfully led the efforts to remove the Confederate Flag from the South Carolina State House grounds."

"As former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley crisscrosses the country ahead of an anticipated 2024 presidential bid, she is also fixated on defending her home turf — from an incursion led by her onetime boss, former President Donald Trump. Haley is putting her political muscle behind South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace, a freshman congresswoman who blamed Trump for the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot — and who is now facing a Trump-endorsed opponent, Katie Arrington, in next week’s Republican primary. Haley, a former South Carolina governor, has appeared in Mace’s TV ads, headlined a fundraiser that raised six figures, and is expected to close out the race by holding several events with the congresswoman."

"In his four years in office, DeSantis has proved to be a hard-working and hard-charging governor, known more for getting things done than inspiring crowds. He’s more Cal Coolidge than Ronald Reagan. But many voters miss the sunny optimism of leaders like the Gipper. That’s where Haley can deliver, both in the suburbs and across party lines. She’s still a tough leader but can soften the harsh edges of DeSantis, especially after the thrashing he’s taken in the national press. Haley won reelection by double digits after doing a great job in the top office and moving South Carolina past some ugly remnants of the state’s history. And she, like DeSantis, motivated centrist Democrats to vote red despite their party registration. Can you imagine Nikki facing down Kamala on the debate stage? The vice president ended her presidential primary campaign after being savaged by Tulsi Gabbard of all people."

"Haley’s intervention in the primary represents a political bet: By throwing her political might behind Mace — a candidate derided by Trump as “nasty, disloyal, and bad for the Republican Party” — and risking a defeat in her home state, Haley is taking steps to distinguish herself from a former president whom she served and who, like her, is weighing a 2024 bid. Those in Trump’s orbit concede it’s likely Haley will end up with the win, with public polling showing Mace ahead. While Haley is barnstorming the Charleston-area district for her candidate during the final days of the contest in a sign of confidence, Trump has opted against making an 11th-hour trip for Arrington."

"By late February, roughly a third of Republicans either didn't know what to think of Haley or had no knowledge of the South Carolinian. And in a mid-March Morning Consult poll, Haley's favorability among GOP voters sat at 47%, while only 16% had an unfavorable view of her; roughly 1 in 5 respondents said they were unfamiliar with the ex-governor. This may give Haley the opportunity to define her candidacy before Trump and other potential entrants, like DeSantis and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have the chance to do so."

"When Haley was elected governor of South Carolina in 2010, she immediately became one of the highest-profile Republicans in a party that was starved for minority leaders, especially after Democrats in 2008 chose then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama as their party's first Black presidential nominee. With Obama's tenure in the White House overlapping with much of Haley's tenure in the Palmetto State, she sought to contrast her conservatism with policies at the national level, seeking to lure businesses to the state and fighting against labor unions. But she left the governor's mansion in January 2017 to assume her ambassadorship at a time when Trump was starting to assume control over larger parts of the party from his perch in the Oval Office. By the end of his term, Trump remained the dominant force in the party headed into 2024, despite his loss to now-President Joe Biden and the political fallout from the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol. So when Haley announced her presidential campaign in Charleston last month, it was in many ways a reintroduction of her record to a party that has essentially been defined by Trump since 2016."

"Haley’s track record, charisma and personal history are ideal for the Republican Party, or it would be if this was 2014. It remains to be seen if GOP voters will embrace any calm, effective, optimistic leader in the post-Trump era. Did 2022 teach conservative voters that candidates welded to The Donald don’t win, or do they want a third disappointing election day in a row? Haley is well-liked by most Republicans but doesn’t have anything like Trump’s passionate support. Nevertheless, she was a long shot in her elections to the Palmetto State Legislature and governor’s mansion. Perhaps lightning will strike a third time. She was smart to announce early, while other potential aspirants are still playing the “will he or won’t he” game. Former VP Mike Pence, Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump Secretary of Everything Mike Pompeo, and a baker’s dozen of other hopefuls will likely jump in this year."

"People familiar with the race say Haley’s opposition to Trump in the primary is more circumstantial than intentional. Haley also backed Mace’s 2020 campaign, and the congresswoman represents the former governor’s home district. They also note that Haley has endorsed the same candidates as Trump in a host of other races, and they insist they were unaware Trump was planning to get behind Arrington. Haley endorsed Mace the day before Arrington entered the race, and two days before Trump endorsed Arrington. But Haley’s assistance to Mace has been particularly extensive. The former ambassador narrated an entire commercial for Mace, in which she describes the congresswoman as “tough as nails.” In March, Haley held a Charleston fundraiser for the candidate that netted more than $300,000. Haley is also expected to aid get-out-the-vote efforts, and her team has been helping raise small-dollar donations."

"It is still early, but for now, some who count abortion as a top-tier issue view Haley as the most compassionate conservative candidate — both declared and those mulling a run — in the 2024 field. "I do think Nikki Haley’s got it down exactly. I think she truly comes from a place of love and care and concern for women and children," says Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. Dannenfelser, whose group has yet to endorse any Republican candidate, adds that Haley is doing a far better job talking about the issue than her former boss, Donald Trump, and since he’s the only other declared GOP candidate, that may be enough."

"But where are those tunnels? They're underneath hospitals. They're underneath schools. They're in hard-to-find places. So this is incredibly tough. I feel for the Israeli families. I feel for the American families. And I feel for any other families who've lost a loved one or have someone in a hostage situation, because it's really bleak right now. And it's hard for anyone to feel good about this."

"Haley has yet to define what her candidacy is about, why she’s running, or how she plans to deliver on the initial promise from her video announcement where she says it was time for a new generation of the Republican Party. “The bigger challenge for Ms. Haley is identifying the rationale for her candidacy beyond a winning persona,” The Wall Street Journal editorial board summed up last week. So far, the former South Carolina governor has missed two opportunities to differentiate herself before the field widens and her star turn at the center of the 2024 media circus wanes: staking a claim on race and the GOP and her stance on abortion following the Supreme Court striking down Roe v. Wade."