Nikki Haley often says very conservative things. For example, I truly appreciate her stalwart support for Israel (although I do not appreciate her seeming efforts to get America involved in a boots-on-the-ground hot war on Israel’s behalf). However, the thing about Nikki is that, when push comes to shove, she always retreats to a soft leftism. Voters know this, and two recent news stories highlight both problems.

One of the great dividing lines between conservatives (and sane people) and Democrats/leftists (and delusional people) is so-called transgenderism. Conservatives and sane people understand that a minute percentage of the population is born intersex, which means that, while they are genetically one sex, they may have some of the sexual organs of the opposite sex.

Conservatives and sane people also understand that, throughout history, there have been men and women who wish they were members of the opposite sex. These people are very sad. The ones who actually believe that they are members of the opposite sex are mentally ill, which is even more sad.

But the most important thing conservatives and sane people understand is that biological reality is binary. Men and women are both subsets of the human species, but they are entirely separate when it comes to sexual identity. There are effeminate men, but they’re still men. Likewise, there are masculine women, but they are still women. Their sex is built into every cell of their body, every muscle fiber and nerve connection, every bone, and every reproductive organ. They exist fundamentally to perpetuate the species, and those differences are mandatory for that purpose.

Image: Nikki Haley (edited). YouTube screen grab.

Democrats/leftists and delusional people, however, insist that the profound biological difference between sexes is a social construct. To erase this construct, they enthusiastically advocate for mutilating surgery, along with drugs that are known to cause sterility, heart disease, and cancer. These are just cosmetic changes, of course, but the push from the left is to impose them on ever younger people, especially vulnerable, prepubescent children.

The only word for this is evil. The same people who would balk at Chinese foot-binding, stomach staples for anorexic girls, and touch football are fine with mutilating children and mentally ill adults.

Corporate America, though, is on board with this leftist view, with one of the most singular examples being Disney. Disney matters because its product is aimed at children. When Disney starts pushing transgender madness, it’s become evil. Yet at the height of Ron DeSantis’s righteous war against Disney, Nikki Haley announced that she thought it would be a great idea for Disney to relocate to South Carolina, the state where she was once governor.

For those who think Nikki was simply trying to distinguish herself from DeSantis, think again. During a recent campaign event, Nikki refused to say that men cannot become women:

Now, can a man become a woman. There’s been a lot that’s been talked about when it comes to all of these roles and all of these issues. I strongly believe that we should not allow any gender change surgeries to anyone before the age of 18. Period. We– kids now can’t get a tattoo until they’re 18. We shouldn’t have them permanently change their body until they’re 18. And that includes puberty blockers, that includes any sort of hormones that would do that.

After the age of 18, we want to make sure people can live any way they want to live. I don’t think government needs to be in control of anybody’s life. You go live the way you want to live, you should be free to live the way you want to live, and every– government and everybody else should stay out of your way.

But prior to 18, it is an important time, especially when you’re going through your teenage years that can be confusing. I don’t think we should ever in any way have any sort of permanent changes. But after 18, I’m not going to say anything. I think that, you know, you always have to believe in freedom and allowing people to live the life the way they want to live, and if that’s how they choose then, you know, I don’t think government should have any say in that.

As you see, that’s some pretty heavy-duty prevarication going on there. The question asked is as binary as sex itself, and there are only two answers: Transgenderism is either real, in which case intervention should start early, or it’s not, in which case we need to stop the madness everywhere. And while it’s true that, in a free nation, adults can cut off their pensis and breasts if they want, Nikki should at least have the courage to say that they’re mentally ill and it’s up to a sane society to intervene wherever possible without interfering with personal liberty.  

There’s a lack of commitment behind Nikki’s rhetoric that voters pick up on. She’s appealing to people who are scared of the nation’s extreme turn to the left but fear actual conservative, American, constitutional principles more. Why do I say that? Because a poll out of Iowa says that, if Nikki doesn’t head the Republican ticket, 43% of her supporters would vote for…Biden.

And to put the seal on the claim that there’s nothing conservative about Nikki except her rhetoric, on which one can’t rely, there’s this:

I’m an ex-Republican. But if I were an Iowan, I’d be crossing back over to vote for Haley Monday.

Voting against Trump in Republican caucuses and primaries is the most effective way—and a legal and legitimate way—to oppose Trump this winter and spring. https://t.co/6fPVqhbeje

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 14, 2024

If Bill Kristol wants Nikki, the rest of us should run like Hell in the other direction—and sign on to Rand Paul’s anti-Nikki Haley initiative.

UPDATED: This is a staff failure, but it's just so...Nikki that she campaigned in Iowa wearing a sweater from a designer who is virulently pro-Hamas.

The opinions expressed in this post are the author’s own and do not represent an official American Thinker endorsement (or anti-endorsement).