Nikki Haley: 'Democrats are still blaming America first. Donald Trump has always put America first'

Former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said at the Republican National Convention that the Democratic Party is still blaming America while President Trump is putting America first.

Haley cited former U.N. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick saying that “Democrats always blame America first" during her speech at the 1984 GOP convention when Ronald Reagan was president.

"Joe Biden and the Democrats are still blaming America first," Haley said on Monday evening, the opening night of the four-day convention. "Donald Trump has always put America first and he has earned four more years as president."

Haley said the U.N. is a "place where dictators, murderers and thieves denounce America and then put their hands out and demand that we pay their bills." 

"President Trump put an end to all that," she said. "Obama and Biden let North Korea threaten America. President Trump rejected that weakness and we passed the toughest sanctions on North Korea in history."

Haley argued that Trump "did the right thing" by withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal.

"Obama and Biden let Iran get away with murder and literally sent them a plane full of cash," she said, referring to former President Barack Obama and his vice president, Joe Biden, Trump's Democratic challenger in this year's White House race. 

Haley said Trump moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem when the Obama administration "led the United Nations to denounce our friend and ally Israel."

Haley argued that a Biden presidency would be "good for Iran and ISIS" and "great for Communist China."

"He’s a godsend to everyone who wants America to apologize, abstain, and abandon our values," she said. "Donald Trump takes a different approach. He’s tough on China and he took on ISIS and won and he tells the world what it needs to hear."

Haley said Biden's bosses would be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic members of the so-called Squad.

"Their vision for America is socialism, and we know that socialism has failed everywhere," she said. "They want to tell Americans how to live and what to think. They want a government takeover of health care. They want to ban fracking and kill millions of jobs."

Haley said Trump revived the U.S. economy before the coronavirus pandemic and he will do it again in his second term. She also said he knows that "political correctness and cancel culture” are dangerous.

"In much of the Democratic Party, it’s now fashionable to say that America is racist – that is a lie. America is not a racist country," she said. "This is personal for me. I am the proud daughter of Indian immigrants. They came to America and settled in a small southern town. My father wore a turban. My mother wore a sari. I was a brown girl in a black and white world."

Haley explained that her parents "faced discrimination and hardship" but they never gave in to hate.

"My mom built a successful business. My dad taught 30 years at a Historically Black College and the people of South Carolina chose me as their first minority and first female governor," she said.

She also said the Democrats are turning a "blind eye" to the riots that occurred in major cities around the death of George Floyd on May 24 while in custody of Minneapolis police.

"America is a story that’s a work in progress. Now is the time to build on that progress, and make America even freer, fairer, and better for everyone," she said. "That’s why it’s tragic to see so much of the Democratic Party turn a blind eye toward riots and rage."

Haley, who was first female Indian-American governor elected in the country, said Americans are "blessed" to live in the U.S. even on its worst day.

"Of course we value every single black life," she said. "The black cops who’ve been shot in the line of duty – they matter. The black small business owners who’ve watched their life’s work go up in flames – they matter. The black kids who’ve been gunned down on the playground – their lives matter too and their lives are being ruined and stolen by the violence on our streets."

The former South Carolina governor also mentioned the shooting of 12 African-Americans at Mother Emanuel Church in her state.

"After that horrific tragedy, we didn’t turn against each other," she said. "We came together – black and white, Democrat and Republican. Together, we made the hard choices needed to heal and removed a divisive symbol, peacefully and respectfully. We seek a nation that rises together, not falls apart in anarchy and anger."