What to Expect When Nikki Haley Goes to the United Nations Nikki Haley will face a number of challenges at the United Nations.

 -- Many diplomats and foreign policy wonks agree that aside from her welcomed executive management experience, Nikki Haley is an outside-the-box pick for ambassador to the United Nations.

Asked specifically about what diplomatic experience Gov. Haley brings to the job, a spokesman for the Trump transition team said this morning that she's been on "a number of overseas trade and business recruitment missions," but beyond that was unable to offer anything more specific other than the "natural chemistry" she shared with President-elect Donald Trump when they spoke about their vision of how the United States should be represented on the world stage.

So, what might that shared vision look like?

Trump has shown the ability to turn his views on a dime, but here is what he and Haley have said in the past about some of the issues she'll need to confront at the United Nations post in New York.

Trump on the UN

Trump is considered to be an isolationist, a president who wants to pull back from the world stage. He has questioned the legitimacy of the Iran nuclear deal, the world climate agreement, accepting conflict-displaced refugees, and the need for U.S. intervention in Syria.

In a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in March, Trump was highly critical of the U.N., saying the organization was "not a friend of democracy" and "not a friend of freedom."

But during a 2005 Senate hearing about the planned renovations of the U.N. headquarters in Manhattan, Trump said he was "a big fan" of the U.N. and that "the concept of the United Nations ... is very important to me and very important to the world, as far as I'm concerned."

Trump tweeted in October 2012 that the recognizable green marble tiles behind the U.N. headquarters podium were “cheap” and “always bothered” him.

“I will replace with beautiful large marble slabs if they ask me,” he tweeted.

Haley on Syrian Refugees

In November 2015, Gov. Haley was among a chorus of governors who called on Secretary of State John Kerry not to resettle Syrian refugees in their states due to security concerns.

"As Governor, it is my first and primary duty to ensure the safety of the citizens of South Carolina. We are a state that has proudly welcomed refugees from around the world as part of the United States Refugee Resettlement Program," Haley said. "While I agree that the United States should try to assist individuals in such dire situations, it is precisely because of the situation in Syria that makes their admission into the United States a potential threat to our national security."

"For that reason, I ask that you honor my request and not resettle any Syrian refugees in South Carolina," she concluded.

According to the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, South Carolina accepted 19 refugees this past month. Of those, two were from Honduras, one from Iraq, eleven from Syria, and five from Ukraine.

In that same time frame, only five states (and the District of Columbia) accepted fewer individual refugees than South Carolina: Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Montana and West Virginia. In all of October, the U.S. accepted 9,945 individual refugees, meaning South Carolina accepted less than 1 percent of them.

Haley Opposed the Iran Deal

In September 2015, Gov. Haley joined 14 other governors in sending a letter to President Obama opposing his Iran nuclear agreement. The group felt that because Iran was a sponsor of terrorism, it should be prevented from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“The lifting of federal sanctions that will result from this agreement will only result in Iran having more money available to fund terrorist groups and attacks,” the letter said. “The people of our states will not be safer as a result of this agreement, much less citizens of countries like Israel which Iran has threatened to destroy.”

If Trump were to try to undo the Iran deal, which he has suggested he would, Haley would be faced with selling that plan to the five world powers who were signatories to the agreement.

Haley Established Domestic Violence Task Force

In light of the emphasis on human rights at the U.N., it's worth noting that Haley established the Domestic Violence Task Force under executive order to address “the cultural issues surrounding domestic violence in the State of South Carolina, including social, economic and geographic issues, as well as professional standards and best practices within government and non-government organizations.”

The United Nations of Trump

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released a statement after the election, saying he hopes the Trump administration will “strengthen the bonds of international cooperation as we strive together to uphold shared ideals, combat climate change, advance human rights, promote mutual understanding and implement the Sustainable Development Goals to achieve lives of peace, prosperity and dignity for all.”

The two have also spoken since the election.

But back in May, Ban Ki-moon said he was “outraged by racism and hatred, especially when voiced by politicians and would-be leaders,” although he did not single out Trump.

The United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, had harsh words for Trump in October.

“If Donald Trump is elected, on the basis of what he has said already, and unless that changes, I think it’s without any doubt that he would be dangerous from an international point of view," al-Hussein said.

“When you fan resentment and seek as a political leader to pin blame on a specific community for deeper problems, real problems, this is highly regrettable,” he added. “There are very real fears that are being stoked and exploited, and this is the point that I was trying to make.”

However, the U.N.'s newly elected secretary-general, Portugal's former Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, will take over for Ban Ki-moon in January. For the past 10 years, Guterres has served as the high-commissioner for refugees at the U.N., a major leadership role that, coupled with the current global refugee crisis, likely played a critical role in his selection.