Nikki Haley and her aides are trying to push back against reports that claim as the State Department is facing some serious cuts in its budget, she spent $52,700 in “customized and mechanized” curtains for her East Side Manhattan apartment.
The New York Times broke the story, and many on the right are defending Haley because the Obama administration greenlighted the purchase.
However, critics on the left were eager to point out that the Trump administration was quick to reverse a lot of decisions approved by the previous administration why leave this one go through. The price tag to break the contract could have been higher than the cost of the curtains.
The UN ambassador’s apartment cost taxpayers $58,000 a month. The State Department made a lot of changes in the last months of the Obama administration after China purchased the Waldorf-Astoria luxury hotel, where diplomats have stayed for a very long time.
Security concerns motivated the changes. Former Secretary Rex Tillerson made some drastic budget when he arrived at the State Department in 2017. The cuts are the reason why many are unhappy about Haley’s curtains.
The supporters will attack the liberal media for portraying their star in a negative light, but this story is not great for a politician seen as a viable presidential candidate for 2020 (if Donald Trump changes his mind about running for re-election) or 2024.
Pricey curtains for a luxury apartment in New York is something that could stick politically if used potently by her adversaries.
On the other side, it could also be used by the former governor of South Carolina to tell the conservative base that the liberal media is out to get her because she is a threat to their agenda.
Either way, some believe that the curtains story will resurface in the future one way or the other.
