Nikki Haley responds to Pence comments on election, Chinese Olympics controversy
Former UN ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley joins 'Special Report'
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and other autocrats know Joe Biden is "the weakest president in history" and therefore understand that if they want to take drastic actions like invading Ukraine, "this is the time to do it."
Haley, a former South Carolina governor, told "Special Report" it was important for Biden to meet with Germany's new left-leaning chancellor, Olaf Scholz – as Berlin is in a sensitive diplomatic position given its place in NATO and Western democracy while also being reliant on Russian energy.
Observers have pointed to Germany's curtailment of domestic nuclear energy production combined with Biden's own nixing of American energy infrastructure like the Keystone XL pipeline as helping create this tense scenario.
"[N]one of this would be happening if Afghanistan wouldn't have been the crisis that it was, but what you're seeing is Russia and all the dictators are seeing an opportunity that this is the weakest president that America has ever had," Haley said.
"And so if they were ever going to invade Ukraine, this is the time to do it."
CUMMING, GA - DECEMBER 20: Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley looks on during a campaign event for Georgia Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler (Photo by Austin McAfee/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
"I think what Russia's really trying to do is get us to not allow Ukraine into NATO. And we have to remember that if you start to give in to Russia's threats, they'll be just another one behind it. But the one thing that makes the Ukraine-Russia issue so important is that China is watching this because how this plays out will dictate whether China thinks they can go ahead with [annexation of] Taiwan. So all of these things string together."
"All of this means that America needs to show strength and needs to show deterrence when it comes to any threats that are coming our way or towards our allies," she said.
Haley disagreed with Biden's U.N. ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who recently said Ukraine and Taiwan are "two different types of situations."
"It's not two different types of situations. I saw China and Russia becoming closer and closer when I was U.N. ambassador, I think you have to realize that this is China watching what Russia is doing. You haven't seen China condemn Russia. You haven't seen China call Russia and tell them not to do anything. If anything, they tried to stop the meeting in the Security Council and took the side of Russia," Haley told "Special Report" anchor Bret Baier.
URUMQI, CHINA - JULY 07: Chinese policemen push Uighur women who are protesting at a street on July 7, 2009 in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang. (Photo by Guang Niu/Getty Images)
Haley said Biden needs to tell Scholz that his dynamic with Russia in regard to energy dependence puts the NATO alliance in a tough position.
In regard to China, Haley noted that Biden also put himself in an odd spot by federally subsidizing millions of face masks and home COVID tests, many of which are made in China, because it is only helping Beijing.
"We've got to wake up and realize we are contributing to the problem. Words don't mean anything. It's the actions that have to happen," she said.
Former Vice President Mike Pence and his family join him as he gives remarks to a small crowd on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021 at Columbus Municipal Airport in Columbus, Ind.Ini 0120 Pence Vp
She went on to call the prominent presence of a Chinese Uyghur Olympian at the torch ceremony an illustration of Beijing's "guilt" over their internment of the Muslim minority.
"They put that athlete front and center to try and say, If we show you something different, then you will forget the images of all of those Uyghurs on their knees, blindfolded that are sexually abused, tortured, and that we are seeing genocide right in front of our very eyes," she said.
"This is them trying to fool everyone. We're not stupid. You can tell by the fact that Americans are not watching the Olympics. The fact that sponsors are going to continue to think they can make money and they can't there are torturing people in front of our face. We promised never again. We have to stand by that."
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