Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley stated on Wednesday (May 22) that she will be voting to support former President Trump rather than current President Biden in the upcoming presidential election in November this year.
On Wednesday, Haley, former Governor of South Carolina and a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, delivered a speech at the conservative think tank Hudson Institute in Washington D.C. During the Q&A session, she was asked about who she believes would handle national security issues better, Trump or Biden.
As Trump’s former competitor in the presidential race, Haley expressed, “As a voter, my priority is a president who will support our allies, hold our enemies accountable, secure our borders without excuses. A president who supports capitalism and freedom, who understands that we need less debt, not more.”
“Trump is not perfect on these policies, I have said that many times. But Biden has been a disaster. Therefore, I will be voting for Trump,” she said.
Haley dropped out of the presidential race in March this year, becoming the last major Republican candidate to withdraw from the primaries.
“Having said that, I still stand by what I said in suspending my campaign. Trump should reach out wisely to the millions who voted for me and continue to support me, instead of assuming they are ready to support him,” Haley added. “I genuinely hope he can do that.”
Unlike Trump’s top rival in the Republican primaries, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who endorsed Trump after Haley suspended her campaign in March, some of her Republican supporters have been hesitant to support Trump in the general election.
Recent primary results also show that Haley has garnered significant support among Republican primary voters. In the Maryland Republican primary held last week, she received 20% of the votes; in the Nebraska primary, she received 18% of the votes. The week before that, Haley won nearly 22% of the votes in the Indiana Republican primary. Earlier this year, she also received over 100,000 primary votes in the critical battleground states of Arizona and Pennsylvania.
The decision made by Nikki Haley to support Trump in the upcoming election highlights the dynamic landscape within the Republican Party and sets the stage for a highly anticipated election battle.