Presidential Candidate Nikki Haley: Hold China Accountable for COVID-19
Former UN Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said Friday in Iovans that China must be held accountable to the international community for the spread of COVID-19.
“I think we need to go and look at the damage, the financial damage, the loss of life that has happened, and every country in the world needs to know and hold them accountable,” Hailey said. “And they haven’t done it yet, and the US needs to take responsibility for it.”
She did not elaborate on what accountability would look like, but said the US should “call out” China because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier in March, FBI Director Christopher Wray told Fox News that the FBI believes the virus originated in a lab accident, likely at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The US House Oversight Committee held a hearing on Wednesday questioning health officials and journalists about whether the lab leak theory was unfairly dismissed. On Friday, the House of Representatives unanimously sent legislation to President Biden’s desk requiring declassification of intelligence about the origins of COVID-19.
A 2021 World Health Organization study involving Chinese researchers found the lab leak theory “highly unlikely”.
While other presidential candidates, including former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, are holding campaign events in Iowa on education issues, Haley met with US Senator Joni Ernst on Friday at a foreign policy forum. The event was organized by the Bastion Institute, a conservative foreign policy organization. Haley spoke about her time in the Trump administration as ambassador to the UN, calling the international organization a “farce”.
She said China is the United States’ biggest adversary and America must step up and motivate its allies in organizations like the UN to hold the country accountable. Along with the spread of COVID-19, Haley raised the security issue of a Chinese weather balloon shot down by the US military in February and ongoing tensions with Taiwan.
One way the US can deter China from taking military action against Taiwan is by showing strong support for Ukraine in defending itself against a Russian invasion.
“China is watching what we are doing with Ukraine,” Haley said. “They are watching those whom we have imposed under sanctions, they are watching that other countries join us. If they see that we remain committed to Ukraine with our allies, they will refrain from Taiwan.”
Advises to send equipment, not money, to Ukraine
Haley said she doesn’t think the US needs to bring money or US troops into Ukraine, but said the country should work with its allies and supply equipment to the Ukrainian military. She criticized former President Barack Obama’s inaction on the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, as well as President Joe Biden’s decision to pull out of Afghanistan in 2021. These decisions “gave Putin the green light” for his current intrusion and signal weakness, she said. America’s enemies, countries like North Korea and Iran.
One of the forum participants shouted at Haley from the stage: “Ukraine is not our ally, why are we doing this?” before leaving. Haley said that while working at the UN, Ukraine has always been on the side of America. She said that supporting Ukraine in its current struggle is not about starting a war, but about preventing a war in the future.
“If we win this war, it will send a signal to China, it will send a signal to Iran. This will send a message to North Korea, this will send a message to Russia,” Haley said. “If we lose this war, we will have to take the word of the dictators. They said Poland and the Baltics are next and you are looking at a world war.”
The US needs a stronger presence
Pella’s Lynn Hessing said she agreed with Haley’s foreign policy platform, saying America needs to be stronger on the world stage. Hessing said she is considering candidates like Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was also in Iowa on Friday, for support in the 2024 election.
On Monday, Trump will host his own event in Iowa, where he will talk about education policy in Davenport. Although she said she had supported Trump in the past, she feared he could split the party in the upcoming election.
“I think he did the right thing when he was president, but I don’t think he can win again,” Hessing said. “I think we need someone fresh and new.”
This article first appeared on the Iowa Capital Dispatch, a sister site of the Nebraska Examiner on the State News Network.
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