U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley received an icy reception at the Women in the World summit in New York City Wednesday, April 6th. Nikki Haley, the tough-talking and blunt U.S. Ambassador to the UN, was heckled during an annual summit on women as she spoke about President Donald Trump and Russia. The Indian American envoy was speaking on April 5 at the ‘Women In The World’ summit, a premier annual gathering of influential women leaders, politicians and activists organized by media personality Tina Brown in association with the New York Times.
Following a panel discussion that featured two doctors who’ve been on the front lines of the Syrian civil war and have witnessed the Assad regime’s attacks on hospitals, Haley expressed outrage over the “heartbreaking” situation in Syria and, once again, pointed the finger at Russia. “If they supposedly have so much clout in Syria, they need to do their job,” Haley said of Vladimir Putin’s government, as a largely nonresponsive crowd began growing restless.
“Keep in mind I work for the Trump administration,” Haley said, as a wave of boos rippled softly through the audience. “I have hit Russia over the head more times than I can count,” she continued, despite rumblings from the crowd. “Because if they do something wrong, we’re gonna call them out on it.”
Haley, who said that she had spoken to the president earlier in the day, insisted that Trump is concerned about Russia, an assertion that further incited the audience. As she was answering questions during the session titled ‘Trump’s Diplomat: Nikki Haley’ moderated by MSNBC anchor Greta Van Susteren, Haley was booed and heckled on several occasions. At one point someone in the audience shouted “what about refugees” while another asked, “when is the next panel.”
She was heckled again when asked how America deals with some of the world leaders who are dictators. “You call them out when they do something wrong and you work with them when you can find ways to work with them,” Haley said.
As some members of the audience shouted at her remarks, Haley said, “we have to express America’s values. We are always the moral conscience of the world,” to which someone from the audience shouted “what about the refugees,” cutting off Haley. Haley went silent. Van Susteren paused, and then said, “Moving on.”
At the end of the day’s program, Brown commended Haley for attending the event even as she got a “boisterous reception” and for remaining gracious as she was heckled. “We often complain and sneer and say Republicans never want to come on any kind of forum except Fox News or places where they can be asked questions that are soft,” Brown said, adding that Haley did not put on any pre-conditions and sat very “graciously” while the audience heckled. “She didn’t get agitated about it, and she’s in the middle of a lot of world crises. So I feel that we should really applaud the fact that she did come.”
