Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley told Iowans Friday morning that America needs to be tougher on the world stage and make national security one of the country's top priorities, the local US media reported.
"I think America right now looks so distracted, and when America is distracted, the world is less safe," Haley said to a crowd of Iowans in Clive.
Haley joined US Sen. Joni Ernst for a discussion on foreign policy hosted by the Bastion Institute, positioning herself as the authority on foreign policy among an increasingly crowded field of potential Republican presidential candidates.
Haley flexed her experience as ambassador to the United Nations under the Trump Administration to make a case for her vision of US leadership on the world stage, arguing that America needs to act as a global leader in promoting fundamental values of human rights and freedom.
That means, Haley said, strengthening the US military by promoting patriotism and technological innovation, and focusing less on diversity, equity and inclusion's "gender pronoun classes."
She said US leadership also requires being tougher on adversaries such as China, Russia and Iran, and showing support for its allies, including Ukraine, even as other Republicans have publicly questioned America's financial support to the country at war with Russia.
MNA/PR