Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s supporters remain divided after she said she will vote for former President Donald Trump. Some see it as a “green light” to vote for Trump as well, while others are still not convinced.
After Haley suspended her campaign in March, Trump immediately became the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party, but was faced with the task of bringing back Haley’s supporters and reuniting the Republican Party without her support, especially after months of bitter rivalry.
Haley’s announcement on Wednesday that she will vote for Trump appeared to ease the lingering animosity between the two, with Trump himself saying during media interviews on Thursday that he appreciated Haley’s comment — even saying he thinks she’s “into us team is coming’. without specifying what he meant by “our team.”
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The two’s latest comments are a move that could unite their bases, especially Haley’s donors, after Trump “permanently excluded” them from his MAGA movement earlier this year, saying, “We don’t want them and they will not accept. ”, as the rivalry between the two escalated during the primaries.
“Anyone who makes a ‘contribution’ to Birdbrain will be permanently expelled from the MAGA camp from this moment on,” Trump wrote on his social media platform in January. “We don’t want them and we won’t accept them…”
Eric Levine, a New York-based Haley fundraiser who had pledged not to vote for Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol but recently announced he would vote for Trump, said, “What was her alternative? “
He told ABC News he voted in favor Biden instead of Trump is not an option at this time when the United States must “stand with Israel, confront our enemies, and support our allies.” Levine also said Haley’s public comments — while not a full statement of support — could convince many of her supporters who felt “lost” toward Trump.
“I think this gives a lot of people permission not only not to vote for Joe Biden, but to vote for Donald Trump,” Levine said. “I think this is a very important statement that she made.”
Longtime Haley ally David Wilkins, a former U.S. ambassador to Canada under the Bush administration, also praised Haley’s announcement as “a good move” and said, “Republicans need to be united as best we can.”
Ozzie Palomo, a lobbyist and prominent GOP bundler who raised money for Haley, echoed that sentiment, saying, “I think this is the right decision.”
“All the statements she made about Trump were during the primaries; the primaries are over and I think the world has changed dramatically, probably faster and more significantly than anyone expected in the last five, six months,” said Palomo, criticizing the Biden administration.
“Her statement that she plans to vote for him probably gives cover to a significant portion of those who are hesitant to feel comfortable enough to do the same,” Palomo said, while acknowledging that there are likely still people are those who will not support Trump.
Palomo said her comment that she will vote for Trump is “about as close to a full statement of support as you are going to get from her at least in the short term.”
“She could have easily said I’m not voting for Biden and left that open,” Palomo said. “However, she took the opportunity to emphasize in a very public form that based on geopolitical matters and other policies such as immigration and the economic mess, she is comfortable choosing one over the other in a clear binary choice.”
MORE: Where will Haley’s anti-Trump supporters go now that she suspends her campaign?
Palomo emphasized that it is still “the former president’s job to reach out to her supporters and lure them back,” but noted that the Trump campaign and the Republican Party’s recent fundraising success are a sign that many are already in move in Trump’s direction – he added himself. has begun supporting Team Trump’s joint fundraising operation with the Republican National Committee.
However, another major Haley donor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely, told ABC News that Haley’s decision to vote for Trump did not change her mind about writing in her name in November instead of on the former president to vote.
“I’m not voting for him – I’ll just tell you that,” the donor said. “I know it’s a binary choice, and kudos and bravo to those who take the binary choice seriously. I’ll be writing in Nikki Haley.”
The donor said the only way she will vote for Trump is if Haley is chosen as his running mate, but the donor said she doesn’t see that happening.
Earlier this month, Trump quickly shut down rumors that his team would consider Haley as his running mate, writing on his social media platform, “Nikki Haley is not in the running for the VP slot, but I wish her the best! “
“It amazes me how many of the larger donors come to the same conclusion as Nikki,” the donor said, later adding, “Obviously, I am a minority in the Republican party.”
The donor criticized Biden’s policies and said she believes Biden’s team’s efforts to court Haley’s support have not been enough, ultimately adding that Haley is “more at odds with Joe Biden then with Donald Trump.”
Following Haley’s withdrawal from the presidential race, the Biden campaign said there is room in their coalition for Haley supporters and has continued to reach out to the Haley Coalition.
Most recently, Biden’s reelection campaign held a call Wednesday night with a group of supporters of former presidential candidate Nikki Haley — after Haley said she would vote for former President Donald Trump in November. During the call, voters shared policy issues important to them heading into November, with a focus on the border and immigration.
“Did this help her? Does it hurt her? Maybe both,” the donor said of how Haley’s comment that she plans to vote for Trump could affect her future political ambitions.
“Some of the people who thought she would be the avatar of beating Trump up until he’s in the grave probably won’t come back for more spoons, so I think that’s a potential loss,” the donor said. “But there are a lot of Republicans who are ‘real Republicans’… That’s support, no matter who the nominee is – then you’re not a team player.”
MORE: Trump continues to lose some Republican primaries to Haley: Does it matter when he faces Biden?
Those who voted for Haley in the Republican primary also responded to her words that she would vote for the former president, many of whom said they did not see her intention to vote for him as a full statement of support.
Eli Raykinstein, a student at Michigan State University, told ABC News that he thought it was inevitable that Haley would say she would vote for Trump, but he added that he doesn’t see it as a full statement of support for the former president .
“I’m already leaning more toward Trump, and I agree with Nikki when she says Biden has been a complete catastrophe,” Raykinstein said. “I am also watching to see who Trump chooses as his 2024 running mate, as I am sure this will also skew my opinion of the race.”
Alissa Baker, a voter in Virginia who supported Haley, told ABC News that she felt relief when Haley said she would vote for Trump because we can now move on to anticipating who she would vote for in November.
Baker also shared Raykinstein’s thoughts – that Haley does not support Trump and added that this will not affect her decision on who to vote for in November.
“This was a personal decision by an individual, not an expression of support. Nikki has told her constituents to vote their conscience and that is exactly what I will do in November,” Baker said.
What Haley donors and voters think about her voting for Trump in November originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
