Nikki Haley: The Happy Surprise
by Whitney Ahn
Nikki Haley should have been one of the most ineffective and incompetent members of President Trump's generally ineffective and incompetent cabinet. Alongside Ben Carson, her appointment was criticized as unusual and ill-fitting her resume. She had always been nationally agreed upon as someone with bipartisan leadership skills and solid conservative but not extremist credentials, but never has she ever been considered a leader in foreign policy. And yet, she has evolved into the strongest and most effective member of Trump's entire administration, let alone his cabinet. In fact, former chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs and current Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) said that her committee opts to send letters on foreign policy matters to Amb. Haley as opposed to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Firstly, let it be said that Donald Trump has a history of equating the value of women to their attractiveness, and Ambassador Haley is certainly a beautiful woman. Through a bat of her eyelashes, Amb. Haley has an ability that is afforded to no other member of Trump's mostly male cabinet: the ability to seem unthreatening. Through this, she is able to make more forceful statements that contradict the president's words and thoughts without putting herself in the line of fire. She also seems to be able to use her Southern charm to help form relationships with fellow ambassadors in the United Nations.
She also is one of the few members of the Trump administration with a fully functional and completed staff. This allows her to set meetings, know her goals for these meetings, and use her time effectively. Her chief of staff, Steven Grove (formerly of the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation) is her most important advisor, and the much more seasoned Sen. Lindsey Graham reportedly also helps to advisor her. No other major sector of the executive branch has filled the positions necessary for those at the top to do their jobs as well as they should, with the possible exception of Mattis' Department of Defense.
Nikki Haley continues to come out in front of both the President and Secretary of State on matters of foreign policy, establishing herself as, shockingly, the most important voice in American diplomacy today. She has taken it upon herself to speak out about the Chechen genocide of gay and bisexual men, the Syrian government's horrific actions against its own people, and the annexation of Crimea. Here's hoping she gets to keep her job long enough to stave off a major nuclear war.
