Nikki Haley weak on illegal immigration

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley finds herself in the unenviable position of having the just delivered the dreaded (and perhaps cursed?) Republican response to President Obama’s seventh, and final State of the Union address.

While Haley did not call out candidates or colleagues by name, she confirmed during a Wednesday appearance on the TODAY Show that Donald Trump was one of the “angriest voices” she referenced in her speech.

“There’s other people in the media, there’s people in my state, I think we’re seeing it across the country”, she said.

“Well, considering I’m leading in the polls by a lot, I wouldn’t say she’s off to a good start”, Trump said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, who has given the GOP response in the past, told Haley that he completely understood because when he gave the speech, he had the same condition.

Haley didn’t shrug off such a possibility.

Donald Trump, not one to shy away from anybody who goes after him, called Nikki Haley “weak” on illegal immigration and said he would look for someone much “better” to be his running mate.

So what I would say to Mr. Trump is don’t take it personally. Her speech, Ms Haley said, was vetted by the top Republican leadership.

“The Republican party offers so many positive things for America, and seeing a young, Southern woman of color as the face of the Republican Party is also a message of hopefulness and optimism”, she said.

“Our state was struck with shock, pain and fear”, Haley said. Haley’s harshest criticism of Obama was that “the President’s record has often fallen far short of his soaring words”.

“We need to reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion”, he said.

“The political establishment of both parties has been talking about fixing illegal immigration for 25 years, and we have never gotten around to it. It’s why people are ticked off and exhausted of politics as usual”. And some weren’t content to discuss Haley as a possible VP choice, despite her implied slam of Trump’s immigration policies. “We disagree with.” In particular, he called on Haley to embrace Medicaid expansion in her state, a move that that has been resisted by many top Republicans. Earnest said the White House still won’t agree with Haley on all issues, but added “her willingness to stand up for some important principles was noted and it took courage, and for that she deserves credit”.

Haley’s response, well-received in some quarters, brought a five-year-old NY magazine question to mind: “Could Nikki Haley be the GOP’s Obama?” Immigrants have been coming to our shores for generations to live the dream that is America. “That’s how you win and that’s how you have to govern when you’re a governor, and I thought she did a great job”, Bush said.