FORT WORTH, Texas — Nikki Haley had not won a single state in the race for the Republican presidential nomination when she took the stage in Fort Worth Monday night, but she still sounded like a candidate on the verge of victory.
“We don’t anoint kings in America, we have elections," Haley said. "And Texans deserve the right to vote."
At the rally in the city’s historic stockyards, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker introduced Haley.
The city’s former mayor, Betsy Price, joined her on stage.
Haley endured at least 10 interruptions from hecklers protesting the war between Israel and Hamas. She paused each time someone began yelling to let police or venue security personnel remove them.
“Don’t get mad at them,” she told the crowd. “Because my husband and his military friends sacrifice every day for them to be able to do that.”
During her half-hour speech she touched on domestic and foreign policy and heavily criticized Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
She slammed both for their handling of the border crisis, saying Trump needs to “stay out of it” and saying Biden had not done enough to keep America safe.
“Now more than ever, we need a leader who has moral clarity,” she said. “Do you want more of the same or something new?”
In a recent University of Texas poll, around 80% of possible GOP primary voters in Texas said they’d choose Trump.
Haley has no apparent path to beating the former president, but said she is staying in the race for the future of the country.
“Don’t complain about a general election if you don’t vote in this primary,” Haley said.