Nikki Haley Has Advice for Young Conservatives

Nikki Haley is making headlines for her advice to young conservatives. While addressing the High School Leadership Summit at George Washington University, the US ambassador to the UN asked the audience members to raise their hands "if you've ever posted anything online to quote-unquote 'own the libs,'" reports the Hill. Most raised their hands, and a round of applause broke out. But then Haley went in an unexpected direction. "I know that it's fun and that it can feel good, but step back and think about what you're accomplishing when you do this—are you persuading anyone? Who are you persuading?" she asked. "We've all been guilty of it at some point or another, but this kind of speech isn't leadership—it's the exact opposite."

Instead of shouting people down, a real leader persuades people civilly, "by showing them how it is in their best interest to see things the way you do," she said. At New York magazine, Adam K. Raymond hopes that the host of the forum at which Haley was speaking, Turning Point USA, was listening. This is the same group that hosted an event at Kent State that featured a diaper-clad student in a playpen, sucking a pacifier, to mock the idea of "safe spaces" being sought by liberal students. Meanwhile, Aaron Blake at the Washington Post argues that "owning the libs" is the "entire political strategy" of the man who appointed her, President Trump. (More Nikki Haley stories.)