Nikki Haley, who emerged as Donald Trump’s most enduring rival and sharp critic during the Republican primaries, has said she plans to vote for the former US president in November.
Haley spoke Wednesday at the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington, her first public appearance since withdrawing from the race in March. She was asked whether Joe Biden or Trump would do better on national security issues.
The former ambassador to the UN and governor of South Carolina has run through a list of priorities when choosing a president, ranging from the need to support allies and hold enemies accountable to supporting capitalism and freedom while reducing the national debt.
“Trump has not been perfect on this policy,” Haley said. “I have made that clear many times. But Biden has been a catastrophe. So I will vote for Trump.”
The 52-year-old added as a caveat: “That said, I stand by what I said in my suspension speech. Trump would be wise to reach out to the millions of people who voted for me and continue to support me, and not assume that they will only be with him. And I really hope he does.”
Haley joins U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, former Attorney General William Barr and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu in the ranks of former Trump foes who will nonetheless support him as the party’s nominee.
During a nail-biting primary campaign, she said Trump had “lost any sense of political viability,” had shown “moral weakness” and was “thin-skinned and easily distracted.” She argued that America must leave its “chaos” behind. Trump fired back, recently dismissing reports that he might consider Haley as his running mate.
Haley’s U-turn caused a quick knockback. Sarah Longwell, a political strategist and publisher of the conservative Bulwark website, tweeted: “So when Nikki Haley said, ‘It’s now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond who didn’t support him.’ She really meant: He can treat me and my constituents like trash and I will still stand in line and support him.”
Joe Walsh, a former Republican congressman, added: “This isn’t complicated: Nikki Haley believes Trump is unfit. And she believes he should never return to the White House. But if she said that publicly, her career as a Republican would be over. So, as expected, she decided not to be honest. To preserve her career as a Republican.”
Although she dropped out of the primaries in early March, Haley continued to poll at 20%, a clear warning sign for Trump’s campaign. The former president has dismissed the idea of trying to appeal to Haley voters, with Biden saying in Atlanta this weekend: “Let me say there will always be a place for Haley voters in my campaign.”
Trump has also been endorsed by former Republican primary opponents, including North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur, and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott.
Earlier during the event at the Hudson Institute, attended by several foreign ambassadors, Haley was fiercely critical of far-right Republicans who favor “America first” isolationism, though she did not mention Trump by name. She praised House Speaker Mike Johnson for pushing aid for Israel and Ukraine through Congress.
“A growing number of Democrats and Republicans have forgotten what makes America safe,” she said. “A vocal part of every party wants us to abandon our allies, appease our enemies and focus only on the problems we have at home.
“They believe that if we leave the world alone, the world will leave us alone. They even say that ignoring global chaos will somehow make our country safer. It will not. This worldview has already put America in grave danger, and the threat grows greater every day.”
