Nikki Haley, giving a possible preview of the approach she'd take if elected president, said she considers China an "enemy" of the United States and called for a tough stance against the country that she said has not come from President Joe Biden.
"China's been practically preparing for war with us for years," Haley, a former U.N. ambassador and governor of South Carolina who is seeking the GOP presidential nomination, told CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday. "Yes, I view China as an enemy."
"What's disappointing about what Biden has done is here you have China has bought up 400,000 acres on U.S. soil, most recently near Grand Forks Air Force Base," said Haley. "They bought our [largest] pork producer in the country, and they continue to steal and have sent millions of dollars to our universities. Ninety percent of our law enforcement drones are Chinese."
Further, she said that the Chinese "have killed more Americans than the Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam wars combined" by sending fentanyl into the United States.
"How much more has to happen for Biden to realize you don't send Cabinet members over to China to appease them?" she asked. "You start getting serious with China and say we're not going to put up with it. They keep sending different Cabinet officials, and it's embarrassing."
The time has come, she said, for America to "make sure that we're serious about China and they know that we're serious about them, not going and being nice to them and thinking that they're going to change."
Biden is currently in Vietnam pushing for stronger diplomatic and military ties with allies and partners to respond to the increasing aggressions from China.
Haley also called for cutting off China's access to U.S. oil and ending normal trade relations until the flow of fentanyl stops.
"And then we're going to build up our military because China now has the strongest naval fleet in the world," Haley said.
Also on Sunday, Haley told CNN that if she's elected president, she'll stop the military's reimbursement policy for travel for abortion care, but also said she's concerned about Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and his block on military promotions over the abortion issue.
Haley's husband is in the South Carolina Army National Guard, and she also said she's concerned that military families are being used as political pawns.
"I’m not saying that Sen. Tuberville is right in doing this, because I don't want to use them as pawns," she said, "but if you love our military and are so adamant about it, then go and make Congress, Republicans and Democrats, have to go through [promotions] person by person," she said.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.