Republican Party needs to be inclusive: Haley

Amid reports that she was a contender for a spot in Donald Trump's cabinet, Indian- American South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has asserted that the Republican Party needs to be inclusive and cannot afford to forget immigrants or people of colour.
"If we as Republicans are going to lead effectively and have staying power as a governing power, we must accept that Donald Trump's election was not an affirmation of the way Republicans have conducted themselves," Haley told a Washington DC audience yesterday.
"He ran against both parties, against a political system he argued was fundamentally broken, an argument the voters subscribed to in massive numbers. They rejected the political class of all stripes, Republicans included. And we have no one to blame but ourselves," the 44-year-old Republican leader said.

Her remarks come amid speculation that she was a top contender for either secretary of state or secretary of commerce in Trump's cabinet.
After the November 8 general elections, the Republican Party not only taken control of the White House, but also retained its majority in the US House of Representatives and the Senate. It also won a record number of governors' elections.
Haley on Thursday had met Trump. In her first public remarks after that, Haley did not mention anything about her meeting but delivered a speech in which she reiterated her position on issues of ethnicity, race and religion, which are different from that of Trump.

She recollected the immigration experience of her parents who came from India with just USD 8 in their pocket.

Voters, Haley argued, rejected the political class, "and we have no one to blame but ourselves" because the party "moved toward big government rather than away from it...Republicans lost their way".
Haley said as a result of the impressive victory, the Republican party needs to do an autopsy of it as it would do during a defeat.
The Republican Party, she said, must remind people that it is the party who will offer opportunities "to all citizens, regardless of their race, gender or where they are born and raised".

The two-term South Carolina Governor also praised the president-elect saying that though she was never a cheer leader of Trump, the Republican party has an unprecedented opportunity to enact conservative policies and must take advantage of his election.
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Senator Rob Portman said her family story is the quintessential American story.
"In my view it's a story thatthe rest of the world appreciates and respects whenreminded of it and I think your very presence at the UN would be a reminder of that and what makes our countryunique," he said.
"I also think yourmanagement skills that you haveshown as governor will beeffective in encouraging theUN to be more efficient, whichis a problem in my view," he added.

Senator Tim Scott called Haley's story "the epitome of the American Dream" to open UN ambassador confirmation.
Haley also received support from the diplomats of other countries based at the UN headquarters in New York.
"I very much agree with Nikki Haley that the UN needs reform. Part of the UN that needs particular reform is peacekeeping," said the British Ambassador to the UN, Matthew Rycroft.
"The UK has long been advocating that reform, and I look forward to working with Nikki Haley, if confirmed, in pursuit of our shared goal of a better, more effective peacekeeping set of operations from the United Nations," he said.

"We thank Ambassador-designate Haley, a true friend of Israel, for her unequivocal support and her clear statement regarding the UN's discrimination against Israel," said the Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon.
"We look forward to working together with her to undo the damage done by the shameful Security Council resolution, and to lead towards a new era at the UN which includes real reforms that will put an end to the biased obsession with Israel," Danon said.
However Senator Tim Kaine, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, was critical of Haley.
He said that Haley's interpretation of the Iranian nuclear deal was completely inaccurate and urged her to read the agreement.