2024 Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Tuesday broke into tears while discussing her husband, who is deployed overseas with the National Guard.
“I wish Michael was here today, and I wish our children and I could see him tonight, but we can't,” Haley said while delivering remarks in Greenville, South Carolina. “He's serving on the other side of the world, where conflict is the norm, where terrorists hide among the innocent, where Iran's terrorist proxies are now attacking American troops.
“This is Michael's second deployment. It was hard for us to say goodbye to him the first time, when he deployed to Afghanistan. It was even harder last summer when he deployed to Africa.”
The former South Carolina governor has often spoken of her husband’s military service, but the emotional moment comes after repeated attacks from former President Donald Trump, who has mocked her husband for not being with her on the campaign trail and suggested he went overseas to get away from his wife.
“The kids and I know why Michael went: He stepped up to keep us safe — and not just us. He stepped up to defend our nation's freedom and our way of life,” Haley said. “Michael is fighting for the country he loves. So are all of his brothers and sisters in arms, wherever they're stationed in this dangerous world.”
