The 2024 presidential race is about to get a lot more interesting.

After Donald Trump’s oddly early announcement two years prior to election day, he’s about to gain his first foil. Former South Carolina governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley is set to officially launch her presidential campaign on February 15th. That’s according to multiple outlets, including Fox News.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations during former President Donald Trump’s administration, will join Trump in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Multiple sources confirm to Fox News Digital that Haley will formally declare her candidacy for the White House at an event in Charleston, South Carolina, on Feb. 15, with an invitation soon going out to her supporters. News of Haley’s announcement was first reported by the Post and Courier newspaper in South Carolina.

I’ve written on Haley at least once recently, and I’m still not convinced there’s a constituency for this (she polls around three percent nationally). The former Trump official is a very generic Republican, which can be a good thing in a general election but is certainly a liability in a boisterous primary battle.

That she also has a habit of pulling back when challenged will also not endear her as a “fighter.” My impression is that Haley is very focus-grouped, with even her social media presence seeming like a conservative predictive text algorithm.

Her history of pushing faux social justice talking points isn’t good either (I believe the social media team that put out the following tweet is gone).

We should all stand with @BubbaWallace today against the cowards who secretly put the noose in his garage stall. Watch your back cowards. Bubba has a bigger army than you do. #HateWontWin #WeStandWithBubba

— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) June 22, 2020

With that said, I’m not anti-Haley. As conservatives go, most of her policy positions are not objectionable, and I believe the majority of the hate she receives from the right is far more personality based. Heck, that’s been the basis of much of my questioning of her so I’m guilty as well. I’m not sure she has what it takes, but she’s welcome to try.

And that’s really my attitude about all the coming GOP presidential primary announcements (except Liz Cheney because she’s Liz Cheney). The more the merrier, I say. Not only does it greatly up the entertainment factor, I see nothing but good coming from a vigorous debate. There are some in the dedicated MAGA influencer wing who feel supremely threatened by Trump not being given a coronation. I think that’s misguided at best. You want a nominee who has been through the fire, something 2016 showed.

So how will Trump respond? I actually think he’s going to lay off Haley unless she gains momentum. Right now, she’s a third-tier candidate by polling, and that’s why it was smart for her to go ahead and announce. Someone like DeSantis can and should wait because a high level of support is already built in. For Haley, she needs to make a splash and she can’t do that if she waits until there are five other people in the race. We’ll see how it works out for her.