Nalin Haley, the 24-year-old son of former South Carolina Governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, is suddenly a rising star among young conservatives – and he’s not his mother’s traditional Republican.
The recent college graduate has gained attention on social media outlets for his far-right, hardline stances on immigration, foreign policy, and American culture.
Nalin Haley called for the end of immigration into the United States during an interview earlier this month.
“We don’t just stop illegal immigration,” Haley said. “I think we need to stop legal immigration.”
When conservative activist Vivek Ramaswamy called for an end to identity politics in November, Nalin replied on social media with a blunt message: “End H1-B visas.”
Nikki Haley, whose parents immigrated from India, has supported legal, merit-based immigration as part of a pro-business platform throughout her career. Her son’s call to end all legal immigration is a massive shift.
Nalin has also broken with his mother on foreign policy.
Nikki Haley has been a fierce advocate for Israel, famously saying “it is not that Israel needs America — America needs Israel.”
Her son said that “Israel is just another country” and that it needs to stop “interfering in our politics.”
Despite campaigning alongside his mother during her 2024 Republican primary campaign, Nalin told The Wall Street Journal on Sunday that he was simply being a “good son” and was “never going to be an advocate for a view that I did not have.”
Instead, Nalin said he aligns with Vice President JD Vance’s politics and would back him as a candidate in the 2028 presidential election if he can “somehow work on his charisma, aura, and likability.”
In his interview with Fox News, Nalin expressed frustration over the current job market.
“We are seeing kids graduate with six figures in debt and not having a job to show for it. My main friend group graduated with great degrees from great schools. It’s been a year and a half since graduation. Not one of them has a job,” he said. “And when we look at all the other statistics, we see that 58% of recent college graduates are unemployed.”
The overall effect, he told UnHerd, is “akin to ‘living in some fake world, some fake TV show.’ We are the United States of America, we don’t do this. Things should be safe. Things should work. People should have jobs. Houses should be affordable.”
Nikki Haley told The Wall Street Journal she was “proud of the strong, intelligent people” Nalin and his 27-year-old sister, Rena, have become.
Nalin currently works in the finance sector in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has not announced any plans to run for office.