NEW YORK — Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is launching her own radio talk show next week on SiriusXM that’s set to air once a week at least through the inauguration of a new president.
She’ll do interviews, take listener calls and talk politics on the show, which will be carried Wednesdays from 8 to 9 a.m. ET on the satellite radio system’s Triumph channel. Expect some talk mixed in about Clemson football, her passion for running and music — maybe even Taylor Swift.
The former U.N. ambassador’s own politics won’t be a secret, but she said she wanted to get away from some of the tribalism that dominates the media.
“My kids, they don’t watch the news, because they think both sides are crazy,” she told The Associated Press. “And they’re not wrong about that. I think we have to take the craziness out. I think we have to take the noise out and I think we have to break things down in a way that people feel empowered.”
Haley was former President Donald Trump’s last opponent left standing for the GOP nomination this year. She endorsed Trump and supported him at the convention, but until the last two weeks, Trump hadn’t sought her help on the general election campaign trail.
But she said Tuesday that Trump’s team had reached out to hers in the past two weeks to discuss some options for joint appearances, though none have been scheduled. Her radio show, however, “is not going to be about campaigning for a particular candidate,” she said.
She said she’d been approached by some partisan news outlets about doing some work for them but wasn’t interested. She didn’t identify them. Her campaign, she said, taught her how the media is tainted and partisan outlets are predictable.
“I think that’s what Americans are tired of,” Haley said. “They don’t want to go on and watch a news show and know exactly which candidate they’re pushing and exactly what politics are pushing. They want to know the issues. They want to know exactly how it’s going to affect their family. I want to take all of the politics out and really break it down on a policy level.”
Haley said she’s open to continuing the show past January “if Americans like what they hear.”
Asked if the show could be useful for her political future, Haley said: “I’m not thinking politics at this point. I’m thinking about what would be fun for me.” Her donors and supporters on Tuesday received an announcement about the show, along with an invitation to join a mailing list and contribute to a political action committee.
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Associated Press correspondent Bill Barrow contributed to this story. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder
