During Wednesday evening’s fiery GOP presidential primary debate, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) drew a battle line crucial for the future of the Republican Party and the nation. Greene asserted that candidate Nikki Haley, former South Carolina Governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, would initiate World War III if she took the Oval Office in 2024. “Nikki Haley is the worst candidate on the stage,” Greene posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “She would start WW3 on day one.”
Nicki Haley is the worst candidate on the stage.
She would start WW3 on day one.
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) August 24, 2023
This claim is far from baseless rhetoric. Haley has been vocal about an interventionist stance regarding global conflicts, particularly the ongoing war in Ukraine. In a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed earlier this year, Haley criticized those who argue that the U.S. should focus on its own interests rather than getting embroiled in overseas conflicts. “China loses if Ukraine wins,” she insisted.
Greene’s warning should not be dismissed as hyperbole; it reflects a more profound division within the Republican Party. There’s a clash between establishment Republicans backed by megadonor PACs, represented by figures like Haley, and the America First vision popularized by President Donald Trump.
Nikki Haley is a neocon warmonger bought and paid for by the military industrial complex! She's a big NO for President, as is anyone who supports a continuation of the war in Ukraine!
— Jillian Torkelson 🗽🇺🇸 (@JillPTorkelson) August 24, 2023
Greene has held steadfastly that America’s domestic issues take precedence over foreign entanglements. Earlier this year, she put it bluntly on social media: “America’s border is more important to Americans than Ukraine’s borders.”
Furthermore, Greene criticized Haley for her “Bush in heels” proximity to establishment Republicans. “She is weak on the border, doesn’t want a wall, claimed ‘legal immigrants are more patriotic than most Americans these days,'” Greene asserted. Such comments reveal a chasm in the party’s identity, dividing those focusing on global engagement and those prioritizing domestic concerns.
Dead.
“I wish you well in your future career on the boards of Lockheed and Raytheon” —@VivekGRamaswamy to Neocon war lover Nikki Haley pic.twitter.com/9v2CajVPlv
— Liberal Reject (@LiberalReject) August 24, 2023
During a rally earlier this year in Waco, Texas, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) criticized Haley’s inclination toward military action. “We cannot go kicking and screaming around the globe, starting new wars behind every Middle Eastern sand dune as Nikki Haley would have us do,” he told an enthusiastic America First crowd.
The key question Republican voters must ask themselves is: What direction should the United States take? Should it become entangled in far-off conflicts, as Haley advocates, or should it prioritize its citizens first, fortifying borders and tackling pressing domestic issues?
Greene’s point boils down to a conservative conviction — when you’re leading a nation, the first responsibility is to its citizens. The issue is not whether or not Ukraine should be defended but whether American interests should be compromised for another nation’s war. After all, Trump’s approach focused on stopping America’s entanglement in endless wars, revitalizing the economy, and keeping America first.
Greene’s warning about Haley is not just a critique of one candidate. It’s a referendum on the future of the Republican Party and the path America should walk in these perilous times. In the lead-up to 2024, voters will ultimately decide whether the GOP returns to its interventionist roots or continues in the America First direction that has garnered immense grassroots support.
