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The stories that count on money and politics in the race for the White House
Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, endorsed Donald Trump in the race for the White House after repeatedly describing him as unfit for the job during their bitter fight for the Republican nomination earlier this year .
Haley’s support is the latest sign that traditional conservative Republicans are aligning with Trump’s candidacy after failing to prevent his rise to the party nomination to challenge President Joe Biden.
“Trump was not perfect. . . Strategies. I’ve made that clear time and time again,” Haley said. “But Biden was a disaster. So I will vote for Trump.”
Haley’s support comes despite Trump’s vitriolic and demeaning attacks against her throughout the campaign, including his use of “Birdbrain” as a derogatory nickname.
Haley’s announcement — made during an appearance at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington — could help Trump heal some divisions within the Republican Party ahead of the inauguration convention in Wisconsin in July.
Even after Haley withdrew from the race in March, she continued to win a significant share of the Republican vote in the primaries from moderate, center-right voters who rejected Trump’s bid for a second term.
Nonetheless, Haley presented her decision as half-hearted support for Trump — and more as a reflection of her distaste for Biden, the incumbent Democrat.
Haley’s political differences with Trump spanned a range of domestic and international issues in which she represented a more traditional form of domestic conservatism and hawkishness in foreign affairs compared to her rival’s populism.
At the height of primary elections in January and February, Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., primarily attacked Trump for fueling “chaos” and for what she described as a decline in his mental health .
On Wednesday, Haley said Trump shouldn’t take his voters’ support for granted.
“Trump would be smart to reach out to the millions of people who voted for me and continue to support me, without assuming they will just be with him. And I sincerely hope he does,” Haley said.
Trump recently ruled out choosing Haley as his running mate, although her statement could help generate some goodwill for her among the Republican base and position her for another run at the White House in 2028.
Haley’s announcement could raise questions about whether Biden has done enough to win the support of moderate Republicans who don’t want to see another Trump presidency.
Michael Tyler, a Biden campaign spokesman, said Haley’s decision changed nothing for “the millions of Republican voters” who rejected Trump in the primary race.
They “care deeply about the future of our democracy, stand firmly with our allies against foreign adversaries, and work across the aisle to get things done for the American people – while rejecting chaos, division and violence that Donald Trump embodies”, Tyler. said.
Biden shared their “values,” he added.
