Nalin Haley, the 24-year-old son of former South Carolina Governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, is sounding the alarm on what he sees as a generational crisis that Republicans are ignoring at their peril.
In an interview with the New York Post, the younger Haley pointed to the recent victory of socialist Zohran Mamdani in New York’s mayoral race as evidence of widespread frustration among his generation.
He argues that while he disagrees with Mamdani’s solutions, he understands the anger driving young voters toward radical candidates.
“My friends graduated with great degrees from great schools, and a year and a half later, none of them have a job. And that makes me upset because they didn’t do anything wrong. They did everything they were supposed to,” Haley told the Post.
The finance professional from Fort Mill, South Carolina, believes Democrats are capitalizing on Republican neglect of younger voters. “My issue is that the Democrats are listening to the younger people and it’s time for the Republicans to do the same,” he said.
Haley recently made waves with his appearance on Tucker Carlson’s show, where he articulated foreign policy and immigration positions significantly to the right of his mother’s views.
The Villanova University graduate with a political science degree has advocated for banning H1-B visas and limiting legal immigration.
He dismisses any surprise about his divergence from his mother’s positions. “I’m just from a different generation, so I have different viewpoints than my mom,” he said.
The younger Haley describes himself as a Christian, populist and nationalist. He has stated that only US-born citizens should hold office and characterized Israel as “just another country,” advocating for an America First agenda.
On economic policy, Haley breaks with traditional Republican orthodoxy.
“I think we are seeing a shift in the economic stances of young Republicans, because … a free market is basically just a lawless market,” he said.
“I’m tired of the Republican Party selling itself to elites and corporations while screwing over American workers.”
His stance on immigration remains firm despite his maternal grandparents being immigrants from India. “All I’ve ever known is America … I’m not gonna have any sort of weird loyalty to a country where I’ve never been,” he explained.
Growing up in the governor’s mansion, Haley says his parents worked to provide a normal life. The most difficult aspect was watching online attacks against his mother. “Being the son of a politician who is being criticized is a lot harder than when people criticize me,” he said.
“She was involved in public service for the right reasons.”
Haley and his mother do not discuss politics and his shift from mainstream Republican views began during his junior year of high school through independent research.
“I just started to think for myself, and I wasn’t just accepting what Con Inc” — a pejorative for establishment conservative interests — “or the mainstream media was giving me,” Haley said.
“I started [noticing] the things you supposedly weren’t allowed to say.”
Despite his public commentary, Haley has no plans for political activism and insists “it was never my intention to get any sort of platform.” His goal is influencing Republican Party direction toward Gen Z priorities.
“I feel the older generation has written off all of the concerns of younger people. My hope is that [the party] will help my generation be able to have the same opportunities that the prior generations had,” Haley told the Post.
He concluded with his vision for the party’s future. “What I hope is that it embraces a Christian ethic and American nationalism and just economic realism, just being real about the economy, and putting normal everyday American workers first as opposed to the elites.”
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