NASHVILLE — Nikki Haley told a large gathering Tuesday that U.S. Senate Republican candidate Bill Hagerty is “a quality Republican” and is the most fitting person to replace the retiring Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander later this year.
And, as the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador went on to say, it doesn’t hurt that Hagerty has the confidence of U.S. Republican President Donald Trump.
Haley and Hagerty both spoke at this event, a fundraiser, at Nashville’s Richland Country Club.
Afterwards, Haley told The Tennessee Star that Hagerty is the kind of Republican Tennesseans like.
“This is not just about electing someone with an R behind their name. It’s about the quality of the Republicans that we elect. What we want to see is someone who understands that value of a dollar. We want someone who understands the value of education. He (Hagerty) is the son of a teacher. We want someone who understands the military. He’s the son of a veteran. But more than that, I had to rival him when I was governor of South Carolina, when he was economic development director in Tennessee,” Haley said of Hagerty, who was also the U.S. ambassador to Japan.
“Hagerty knows businesses. He knows how regulations can hurJapant. But he also knows that the best thing you can do for business owners is to get out of their way. You combine that with the fact that he’s worked in an administration. He knows the ins and outs of the White House. He understands the agencies. He’s going to be able to get things done,” Haley said.
Haley said earlier that Hagerty will fight for secure borders, conservative judges, and, also, President Trump.
As The Star reported last month, Hagerty hosted Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend, former FOX News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle, at a similar event in Hagerty’s hometown of Gallatin.
The president’s son told an audience then that Hagerty “was on the Trump train before it was politically expedient.”
And that, Trump went on to say, is why his dad endorsed Hagerty so early in the campaign.
At that event, Hagerty described himself as a fourth-generation Tennessean who grew up raising cattle and pigs. Hagerty said he’s running to replace Alexander because he wants future generations to have the same opportunities Hagerty had.
“When President Trump gave me his complete and total endorsement, he did so because he wants an ally, a Christian conservative who will stand with him and against the Democrats and their calls for radical socialism and against those Republicans who at times are weak and want to side with the Democrats and impeach our president,” Hagerty said at the time.
As The Star reported in September, Hagerty said he decided to run after he “saw the threat to Tennessee and our country from the Democrats’ socialist agenda.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Nikki Haley” by Nikki Haley.
That does it. I am not voting for Hagerty.
The only worse recommendations would be from Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney and/or the Ghost of John McCain.
Haley was for all intent and purposes Israel’s representative at the UN.
NIkki Haley– I despise her. She did a good job at TN but her response to the Charleston shooting will never be forgotten. She handled that exceptionally poorly listening to all the Libs and not listening to ppl whose Heritage was being destroyed.
I cant get behind Hagerty–I am voting Dr Manny
PDT got some BAD advice on this guy–he really should stay out of Primaries
Politicians supporting Politicians is what keeps the “Swamp” stocked, in Washington and Nashville.
You would think the average person would have learned that by now.
You have to ask how is it that people with the most money get the most votes???
When you have voters this Stupid you can’t expect an honest Government,
In Washington or in Nashville.
Nashville is attempting to legislate changes to a Constitution that forbids them from legislating any changes except by a Constitutional Amendment.
Yes, we’re about to have our own locally elected Criminal running the state in addition to the ones sent to Washington.
And the idiot voters don’t know why these governments are the way they are.
Our president under the direction of some bad counselors has chosen some bad characters in the past. The president cannot know who everyone is in the country, so he has to listen to advisors. Like Bill Lee does he have some bad advisors?
Hagerty is part of the political system. Read his bio, look what he’s done and who he has worked for. He is a professional politician who is a Rhino. He was in Haslam’s cabinet and was replaced by Rhino Randy Boyd. It looks like he is chosen one by the Elite for that seat. The question is, will the good people of TN see that? Time will tell.
Nikki Haley is a dangerous war-monger who is “brave” with the lives of our soldiers but not her own life. She should stand trial for war-crimes.
Truth be known, Donald Duck would be better than Lamar Alexander. The good news for Mr. Hagerty is it won’t be difficult to be a better Senator than Alexander.