Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley has not had a good year. In attempting to play all sides against the middle in the escalating “Republican” civil war, Haley has alienated … well, everybody. In the process, her formerly high-flying presidential aspirations have morphed into decidedly middle-tier machinations.
Insiders on the left, middle and right had already discerned Haley’s modus operandi … namely that she is guided exclusively (and erratically, it would appear) by an especially craven brand of pure, unadulterated self-interest.
Thanks to her high-profile vacillations regarding former U.S. president Donald Trump, this root perception has taken hold among broad swaths of the Republican primary electorate …
Can Haley turn things around and become a 2024 frontrunner once again? Sure … she’s got time and money on her side. As well as gender and ethnicity. But this post is not about reminding readers of Haley’s deep-pocketed financial backers – or the fact that identitypolitik will forever keep her relevant as a minority female (sorry, it’s true).
This post is about debunking a Haley-related conspiracy theory that has been making the rounds recently … a theory which holds that the former South Carolina governor is ineligible to run for president or vice-president. Constitutionally ineligible.
This allegation was raised earlier this month by Bill Bledsoe, a former Constitution party candidate. Bledsoe made the claim in a column he wrote for The Standard – a South Carolina-based conservative news site.
“Neither of Haley’s parents was a citizen of the United States when she was born,” Bledsoe wrote. “So she can never hold the office of president or the office of vice president in the United States.”
Wait … what?
According to Bledsoe, because Haley’s parents did not apply for U.S. citizenship until the fall of 1977 – almost seven years after she was born – the former ambassador is not a “natural born citizen” per the terms of Minor v. Happersett 88 U.S. 162 (1875).
“While we tremendously support the endeavors of the Nikki Haley, we must sadly admit that she could never get on the ballot for president or vice president of the United States due to Constitutional disqualification,” Bledsoe concluded.
Is he correct? No.
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While I have consistently editorialized against birthright citizenship, the fact remains that jus soli (“right of soil”) is firmly ensconced within the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside,” the amendment clearly states.
Haley was born as Nimrata Randhawa in Bamberg, South Carolina on January 20, 1972. Therefore, she is a citizen of the United States by right of birth – notwithstanding the citizenship status of her parents.
In 2009, an attempt was made to invalidate the 11 electoral votes narrowly won in the state of Indiana by former U.S. president Barack Obama. One of the legal arguments put forward in support of this attempt was disqualifying Obama from holding the office of president “because his father was a citizen of the United Kingdom.”
Addressing this issue in the case of Ankeny v. Governor, the Indiana supreme court did a deep dive into the birthright citizenship issue – exploring its roots in British common law dating back more than three centuries.
“The fundamental principle of the common law with regard to English nationality was birth within the allegiance,” the court noted. “The principle embraced all persons born within the king’s allegiance, and subject to his protection. ? Such allegiance and protection were mutual … and were not restricted to natural-born subjects and naturalized subjects, or to those who had taken an oath of allegiance.”
Additionally, the court concluded jus soli was “in force in all the English colonies upon this continent down to the time of the Declaration of Independence, and in the United States afterwards, and continued to prevail under the constitution as originally established.”
Therefore, the court concluded that “persons born within the borders of the United States are natural born citizens … regardless of the citizenship of their parents.”
I concur …
While there are many reasons not to vote for Nikki Haley in 2024 (or any other year), her constitutional ineligibility to run for president is not one of them. Under common law and the (amended) U.S. Constitution, Haley is a natural born citizen of the United States of America. As such, she is constitutionally eligible to seek – and hold – the office of president or vice president of our country.
Bledsoe’s assertion to the contrary is prima facie inaccurate …
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: FITSNews)
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children (including baby Matty, pictured above).
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14 comments
Your ignorance of the eligibility clause is unfortunate. There is documentation that explains there is a difference between “born citizen” and “Natural Born”.
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In a letter from John Jay to George Washington on July 25, 1787, Jay pointed out to Washington that only a natural born citizen that has no allegiance to another country should be allowed to hold office of commander and Chief of the military.
Alexander Hamilton’s previous entry of “born citizen” was changed to read “natural born” in Article II, Section I, Clause 5.
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The 14th amendment, 1868, was written only as a pathway to citizenship for blacks. There is nothing in the 14th amendment that insinuates or overwrites Article II, Section I, Clause 5, in reference only to Presidential eligibility requirements.
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Because Nikki Haley’s parents were still citizens of India at the time of her birth, with allegiance to India, Nikki Haley inherited her parents allegiance to Indian.
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If before Nikki Haley’s birth, her parents had taken the naturalized oath of allegiance, renouncing allegiance to India and swearing allegiance only to the US, Nikki Haley would have been a natural born citizen. However that was not the case.
It’s not so much that she inherited her parents’ allegiance to India, what didn’t happen is that she was not being taught the history, customs and Constitution of the United state while she was growing up. The person who first wrote about it (I don’t remember which one it was, and don’t need to look it up for purposes here) explained that a natural born person would be indoctrinated with the concept of what The United States is and what it means to be an American by her parents, who were also citizens and would take the time to teach their child those concepts.
What you state is WRONG. No wonder this country is in such a mess when people have no clue what it means to be a natural born citizen v. a citizen.
Absolutely correct recital of the eligibility clause. FITSNews is biased having been the Press Secretary to the Governor of South Carolina and fails to do the necessary research.
I like Nikki Haley, but she is not Constitutionally eligible for the office of President, Vice-President OR for Speaker of the House (linial Successorship to the Office of President).
Joe is correct. Unfortunately, we have already elected and reelected a man who was not a natural born citizen. People today are too ignorant of the original meaning of the term, and our government routinely ignores the Constitution. Nikki is not eligible.
The only people in this thread that are wrong is you and Joe. It is you and Joe that have no clue what the real definition of NBC is. Perhaps you should pick up a copy of the Law of Nations which was written in natural law. Our founders used natural law and the LAw of Nations when crafting our founding documents. Natural Born Citizenship is passed from FATHER to children. End of argument. In the days of our founders it was clearly understood the definition of NBC and it has been twisted to fit an agenda.
Karen Bracken, you correctly stated the Law of Nations, and your third and second to last sentence:
“Natural Born Citizenship is passed from FATHER to children. End of argument.”
Nikki Haley’s father was a Citizen of India at the time of her birth so she could not have been born as a Natural Born Citizen, but is considered a “Native Born Citizen” under the Constitution.
Past Constitutional mistakes does not negate or change the Constitutional Eligibility Clause.
Nikki Haley IS NOT A “NATURAL BORN CITIZEN”
The USURPER Obama was not a “Natural Born Citizen” and MUST BE HANGED for the Usurpation of the Office of President of these United States of America.
Our Founders were quite clear as to the meaning of “Natural Born Citizen” and its use in one, and only one, place in the Constitution.
Ask Mr. Franklin and the Continental Congress.
There are different types of U.S. Citizenship; Natural Born (born to TWO U.S. Citizens on U.S. soil), Citizen by birth (born in the U.S.), and Naturalized Citizen (taking the oath of citizenship after meeting the established requirements, as my wife did). ONLY a Natural Born Citizen is LEGALLY eligible for the office of President of the United States. Period. Obama, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Kamala Harris, and Nikki Haley do NOT meet this requirement, but our government pays no heed to the Constitution and does as it pleases. Haley is NOT legally eligible to run for president, but that will not stop her, and nobody will make a peep about it.
And apparently most Americans no longer pay heed to the Constitution either. They get their education from the lying MSM.
You are WAY WRONG> There is a big difference between being a CITIZEN and a NATURAL BORN CITIZEN. What you quote clearly says CITIZEN. It does not say NATURAL BORN CITIZEN. As a citizen she is eligible for ALL elected offices EXCEPT that of VP or President. It appears as if you are twisting the truth to fit an agenda.
Good Job Will. You don’t have to agree with someone political agenda to do what’s right. Nikki is eligible to run for president. I can assure you I will not support her at this time.
Daniel Johnson;
Define “Natural Born Citizen” that was used by the founding fathers and framers of the Constitution.
If you do so correctly, it is to use the definition from the Laws of Nations that was widely used by all of the framers, and that is to be a Natural Born Citizen one must be born to US citizens in the United States. Nikki Halley was not so born. Later extensions by the Supreme Court says that if a person was born to US citizens in a foreign nation while the parent(s) were on official business or postings of the Federal Government and has an FS40 Certificate of Citizenship they are still considered a Natural Born Citizen. Such as children born to US Military Parent(s) in an overseas posting or to Diplomats on a Foreign Posting.