One day after officially announcing her candidacy for the 2024 U.S. presidential race, Republican Nikki Haley held her first campaign rally on Wednesday (Feb. 15). The former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador chose John Hagee, televangelist and pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, to give the invocation.
Hagee has generated controversy over the years for comments considered to be anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic, anti-Islamic, and anti-LGBTQ. The 82-year-old writes about end-times prophecies and has indicated the Antichrist will be a gay German of Jewish ancestry.
Nikki Haley to John Hagee: ‘I Want To Be You When I Grow Up’
As the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley spoke at a summit for Christians United for Israel, a group John Hagee founded. The two visited Israel in the same delegation in 2021. After Hagee gave the invocation at her rally Wednesday, Haley took to the stage and said, “To Pastor Hagee, I still say I want to be you when I grow up.”
Haley, the child of Indian immigrants, is the first woman of color running for the GOP presidential nomination. At her rally, the 51-year-old said the Republican party needs a new generation of leaders. Haley also emphasized that Americans aren’t hateful or racist but “full of love” and “sustained by faith.”
Throughout his ministry, Hagee has made headlines for questionable statements—some of which he later apologized for or walked back. The televangelist has called the Roman Catholic Church the “great whore,” said Adolf Hitler had Jewish and Catholic backgrounds, and indicated that God used Hurricane Katrina to punish New Orleans for its plans to hold a gay pride parade.
During the pandemic, Hagee initially said Jesus Christ was the only vaccine for Covid-19; later the pastor clarified that he would receive the shots. At a right-wing event held at Cornerstone Church in 2021, some attendees started chanting “Let’s Go Brandon,” a derogatory dig at President Biden.
Is Haley Trying to Impress the GOP Religious Base?
During the 2008 presidential campaign, Arizona Sen. John McCain embraced Hagee’s support until deciding the pastor was too extreme. In 2018, President Trump tapped Hagee to offer the benediction when a new U.S. embassy opened in Israel. Former Vice President Mike Pence, rumored to be considering a 2024 presidential run, visited Hagee’s church last month—as well as the Dallas-area megachurch of Robert Jeffress.
Political science professor Kirk Randazzo tells Newsweek that Nikki Haley might help the Republican party with its “reputational problem,” citing issues such as abortion. The candidate offers the promise of maturity, calmness, and cooperation, he says, “which is vastly different from the current image” of female GOP politicians.
