Nikki Haley Test Drives a Lukewarm Endorsement for Donald Trump
In her first public remarks since dropping out of the presidential race, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said on Wednesday that she would be voting for former President Donald Trump in the general election.
The announcement, which occurred during an event at the Hudson Institute, came two months after she left the race for the Republican nomination and chose not to immediately endorse Trump.
She compared Trump and his policies to President Joe Biden’s saying that while “Trump has not been perfect on these policies… Biden has been a catastrophe.”
However, her endorsement of the former president—who she served as Ambassador to the United Nations under—came with another message: reach out to those who voted for and continue to vote for her.
“I will be voting for Trump,” Haley said. “Having said that, I stand by what I said in my suspension speech. Trump would be smart to reach out to the millions of people who voted for me and continue to support me and not assume that they're just going to be with him.”
Back in January—prior to dropping out—Haley said that Trump was “totally unhinged” and that when he doesn’t get his way he often “throws an absolute temper tantrum,” and then says that he will “ban anyone from MAGA that donates to me.”
Trump and his campaign team were equally as critical towards Haley, referring to her as “birdbrain” on multiple occasions.
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