Hunter
12/31/23
Presidential candidate Nikki Haley was in Coralville Saturday morning, making a stop at the Iowa Athletic Club on the Iowa River Landing. Unfortunately for her, she made a couple of miscues in a city that boasts the best player in college basketball.
The Gazette reports that although Haley called herself a “basketball mom,” she referred to the women’s basketball team as the “Lady Hawkeyes,” and mixed up Caitlin Clark’s name with CNN anchor Caitlin Collins.
During her appearance, she talked about her foreign policy experience and two-year tenure as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and her plans to tame inflation, decrease federal spending, reduce the federal deficit and bolster border security.
Haley attended Saturday afternoon’s game with her son. She greeted and talked with former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who served with Haley in the Trump administration as U.S. ambassador to China. Haley spent halftime shaking hands, hugging, high-fiving and posing for selfies with Hawkeye fans.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, candidate Vivek Ramaswamy was in Indianola. The Des Moines Register reports he detailed to reporters how he would negotiate an end to the Russia/Ukraine war. Ramaswamy opposes continued military aid to Ukraine as it fights to eject Russian forces, and he favors a resolution that would allow Russia to keep seized parts of eastern Ukraine it has illegally annexed. He believes the top threat is Russia’s alliance with China.
The Iowa Caucuses are set for January 15th. Both Haley and Ramaswamy are distant contenders to former President Donald Trump, who has declined invitations to participate in debates because of his overwhelming lead.