South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) argued on Friday in an implicit rebuke of Donald Trump that the Republican Party must be a party for “all citizens, regardless of their race, gender or where they are born and raised.”
Speaking at the Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention in Washington, Haley said that the President-elect’s unexpected election victory “was not an affirmation of the way Republicans have conducted themselves,” as quoted by the Washington Post.
The report quoted Haley as saying that while she was never Trump’s “biggest cheerleader,” she saw his election as an opportunity for the GOP to remind voters that it will offer opportunities “to all citizens, regardless of their race, gender or where they are born and raised.”
“Republicans lost their way,” the report quoted Haley as saying, citing the party’s movement toward big government. “We have no one to blame but ourselves.”
On Thursday, the Post and Courier newspaper reported that Haley was scheduled to meet with Trump and that she was being considered for several posts in his incoming administration, including secretary of state.