Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley announces run for president

"I'm Nikki Haley and I'm running for president."

With those words, Haley, the former South Carolina governor and Trump-era ambassador to the U.N., announced her run for the White House in a video posted on Twitter early Tuesday morning.

Highlighting her history as a daughter of South Carolina and her tenure as South Carolina's governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, Haley positioned herself as an experienced alternative to politics as usual.

"The Washington establishment has failed us over and over and over again," Haley said, before calling for a "new generation" of leadership.

With a nod to her identity, Haley outlined some of the threats facing the U.S. today, including China and Russia.

"They all think we can be bullied. Kicked around. You should know this about me: I don't put up with bullies," she said as the video showed pictures of her sitting on the U.N. Security Council.

"And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you're wearing heels," Haley said with a smile, in a nod to her gender as the first woman to throw her hat into the ring in the 2024 presidential race.

Evan Vucci / AP

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AP

Haley, the daughter of immigrants from India, is also the first Republican to challenge former President Donald Trump for the nomination.

After Trump lost the 2020 election, Haley promised not to run against him if he sought the party's nomination in 2024. Though Trump announced his White House ambitions in November, Haley began 2023 talking about needing a new generation of Republicans to lead the country in public spaces including a few high profile appearances on Fox News.

Haley served as the U.N. ambassador during the Trump presidency for nearly two years from 2017 through 2018. Prior to joining the Trump White House, Haley was governor of South Carolina from 2011 until 2017. She was the first woman to lead the Palmetto State.

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