NEW YORK — Nikki Haley, the former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor, has a book deal.
St. Martin’s Press announced Wednesday that Haley’s book, currently untitled, will come out this fall. According to the publisher, the 47-year-old Haley will write about her experiences as ambassador in 2017-18 and her six years before that as governor, sharing “the consequential actions, decisions, confrontations, and behind-the-scenes negotiations that shaped national and world events.”
Haley also will offer “deeply personal” insights and the “challenges” she faced as a woman during her time in government.
“I was blessed to serve during some momentous times as governor of South Carolina and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations,” Haley, a Republican who has often been mentioned as a possible future candidate for president, said in a statement. “There were tragedies and triumphs, but through it all my love for America has only grown. My hope with this book is to give people a unique window into recent history and inspire us toward a better future.”
Financial terms for her book were not disclosed. Haley was represented by Washington attorney Robert Barnett, whose other clients have included former President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Haley has written a previous book, “Can’t Is Not An Option,” which came out in 2012.
Numerous former Trump administration officials, from James Comey to Omarosa Manigault Newman, have written best-sellers. Former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster has a book scheduled for 2020.
Often seen as an independent force within the Trump administration, Haley was once one of Trump’s toughest Republican critics.
She endorsed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for president in 2016 and said Trump was “everything a governor doesn’t want in a president.” Trump, meanwhile, tweeted, “The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!”
As ambassador, she differed notably at times from the president’s more isolationist views, but she was one of the few top officials to depart amicably, and voluntarily. With Trump beside her in the Oval Office and telling her she had done a “fantastic job,” she announced last October she was stepping down at the end of 2018 because “it’s good to rotate in other people who can put that same energy and power into it.”
She also said she had no plans to run for president in 2020 and would campaign for Trump, who has since said he will nominate Kelly Craft, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, to succeed her at the U.N.
Fellow diplomats praised Haley when she announced she was leaving, but her time at the U.N. coincided with the Trump administration’s withdrawal from numerous international agreements and organizations, including the Iran nuclear deal, the Paris climate agreement and the U.N. Human Rights Council. Haley herself clashed with the White House last year when on television she previewed the administration’s planned imposition of a new round of sanctions on Russia.
After the sanctions never materialized, economic adviser Larry Kudlow said she got “ahead of the curve” and suggested she was confused.
“With all due respect, I don’t get confused,” Haley responded.
