When U.S. President Donald Trump delivered his fiery first speech at the United Nations General Assembly this week, one person in the audience watched with particular interest, bracing herself for what would come next. After all, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, knew it would be her job to deal with the fallout of her boss’s words, which, predictably, kicked up a storm of controversy.
In a surprising twist during a presidency filled with surprises, Haley has become the face of American diplomacy in the age of Trump. It is Haley who has to take Trump’s coarse ideas and often-contradictory policy pronouncements and translate them to the world in a more palatable mix. And it is her task to prevent Trump’s harsh rhetoric from isolating the United States on matters for which it requires international cooperation.
To a large degree, and considering the scale of the challenge, Haley has proven rather successful.