Former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is releasing all of her delegates to next week’s Republican National Convention and urging them to support former President Trump.
“The nominating convention is a time for Republican unity,” Haley said in a statement on Tuesday. “I encourage my delegates to support Donald Trump next week in Milwaukee.”
Haley, who was the final challenger against Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination before ending her White House bid four months ago, charged in her statement that “Joe Biden is not competent to serve a second term and Kamala Harris would be a disaster for America.”
“We need a president who will hold our enemies to account, secure our border, cut our debt, and get our economy back on track,” she urged.
TRUMP DROPS A MAJOR HINT ON HIS RUNNING MATE – AND ON THE TIMING
Nikki Haley announces she is suspending her campaign, in Charleston, South Carolina, March 6, 2024. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
Haley launched her presidential campaign in February of last year, becoming the first major candidate to challenge Trump, who had announced his candidacy three months earlier. She was the final rival to Trump, battling the former president in a contentious two-candidate showdown from the New Hampshire primary in late January through Super Tuesday in early March.
AFTER MONTHS OF SILENCE, HALEY SAYS WHO SHE’LL VOTE FOR IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Haley announced that she was suspending her White House campaign on March 6, the day after Trump swept 14 of 15 GOP nominating contests on Super Tuesday.
As she departed the race, Haley made it clear that she intended to keep speaking out. And Haley continued to grab up to 20% of the vote in Republican presidential primaries in the months after she dropped out.
Nikki Haley gives an address at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank, on May 22, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Hudson Institute)
In late May, in her first public comments since announcing the end of her 2024 campaign, Haley said she would vote for Trump.
“Trump has not been perfect on these policies. I have made that clear many, many times. But Biden has been a catastrophe. So, I will be voting for Trump,” Haley said.
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Haley won a total of 97 delegates during the Republican presidential primaries.
Nikki Haley speaks at a campaign town hall in Rye, New Hampshire, Jan. 2, 2024. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
Haley is not planning on attending next week’s convention in Milwaukee, aides told Fox News.
“She was not invited, and she’s fine with that,” Haley aide Chaney Denton said. “Trump deserves the convention he wants. She’s made it clear she’s voting for him and wishes him the best.”
Word of Haley’s move on Tuesday was first reported by Politico.
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