Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley took to social media on Monday as she moves ahead with her plan to stop funding China if elected.
“COVID-19 likely originated in a Chinese lab,” Haley tweeted. “Cut US aid. Not a penny for communist China.”
The tweet came a day after the US Department of Energy reportedly determined that the COVID-19 pandemic likely stemmed from an accidental leak at a laboratory in China.
NIKKI HALEY SAYS DESANTIS ‘PARENTAL RIGHTS IN EDUCATION’ ACT IN FLORIDA DOESN’T GO ‘FAR ENOUGH’
The department was previously undecided about the origin of the pandemic but now echoes the FBI’s stance that the virus likely spread because of a mishap at a Chinese lab, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a classified intelligence report released recently submitted to the White House and key members of Congress.
Haley also wrote an op-ed for the New York Post last Friday, criticizing the Democratic and Republican presidential administrations for how they’ve handled foreign aid, adding that the US spent $46 billion in 2022 to help countries like helping Iraq, Pakistan and China.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley addresses supporters during her speech Wednesday, February 15, 2023, in Charleston, SC Haley. On Wednesday, SC Haley launched her 2024 presidential campaign, banking on her career to break boundaries as a woman and person of color ruling in the United States’ Heart of the South before representing the US on the world stage, the deep-rooted support for her may former boss, former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Mic Smith) (AP Photo/Mic Smith)
“Despite the obvious threat China poses to Americans, American taxpayers still give money to communist China for ridiculous environmental programs,” she wrote. “We are giving money to Belarus, the closest ally of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. We even give money to communist Cuba — a country that our own government has declared a state sponsor of terrorism.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
She added that if elected, she would cut every penny of foreign aid to countries the US hates
Fox News’ Danielle Wallace and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.